A 73-year-old woman using a wheelchair died after being struck by a car while crossing Washington Boulevard in a North Ogden crosswalk this past weekend. Police say the driver, a minor, stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators as the case remains under investigation.
According to abc4.com, the woman was transported to a local hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. The outlet reported that the crash happened on a crosswalk north of 1700 North, while ksl.com placed the collision near 1700 North and 400 East, hitting the woman shortly after 7 p.m. Gephardt Daily, which first reported on the crash details that North Ogden police revealed Monday, described the location as the intersection of Gephardt Daily Washington Boulevard and 1700 North.
Police said the driver who struck the woman was a minor who remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation. KSL reported that the driver was a boy, and Fox 13 added that he was a licensed minor at the time of the crash, according to fox13now.com. The woman's identity had not been released as of the most recent reporting, per the station's account.
No Signs of Speed or Impairment, Police Say
Investigators said that neither speed nor impairment were initially considered factors in the crash, abc4.com reported. The Weber/Morgan Metro CRASH Team was handling the ongoing investigation, the same outlet noted, and no further findings had been released publicly at the time of reporting.
Utah law requires drivers to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing within a marked crosswalk on the half of the roadway the vehicle is traveling on, slowing or stopping if necessary, according to the Utah Code. The statute outlines limited exceptions but generally places the burden on drivers approaching marked crossings to watch for and accommodate pedestrians already in the roadway.
A Pattern of Crosswalk Fatalities Involving Older Pedestrians
The North Ogden case echoes a crash hundreds of miles away in Las Vegas, where an 83-year-old woman was killed after being struck by a pickup while walking in a crosswalk at South Pecos Road and East Hacienda Avenue, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. In that incident, the driver also remained at the scene and showed no signs of impairment, with police continuing to investigate the fatality, the paper reported.
Both cases remain open, with no finalized determination of fault released publicly in either city. In North Ogden, the Weber/Morgan Metro CRASH Team's investigation continues as authorities work to clarify the circumstances surrounding the fatal crosswalk collision.
