A 77-year-old Palmdale woman died Friday evening after she was struck by a vehicle near 40836 20th Street West, according to authorities. The woman, identified as Concepcion Atkins, was pronounced dead at the scene after the collision, which closed the roadway for hours as crews worked the scene.
The California Highway Patrol was notified of the crash at 6:59 p.m., according to a CHP incident log reviewed by chpfatal.com, which recorded a pedestrian-versus-vehicle report involving a white Hyundai Genesis. A CHP spokesperson told MyNewsLA.com the collision happened around 7 p.m. near the same address. Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel responded to the scene and pronounced Atkins dead there, per the CHP account relayed to MyNewsLA.com.
Identification and Investigation Status
The Los Angeles County medical examiner's office identified the woman killed as Concepcion Atkins, 77, MyNewsLA.com reported. Separately, hollywoodlanews.com reported that the Los Angeles County coroner's office identified the decedent by the same name and noted she was apparently hit by a white Hyundai Genesis near the 40836 20th Street West reference location. That outlet also reported that the medical examiner listed the manner of death as accident and the cause as traumatic injuries.
Her death remains under investigation, according to MyNewsLA.com. The CHP incident feed also logged a coroner case number, CC# 2026-16181, tied to the Los Angeles County coroner's notification, per chpfatal.com's review of the dispatch record.
Road Closure Lifted Overnight
Fire department and American Medical Response personnel were dispatched to the scene at 7:06 p.m. Friday, per the same CHP log cited by chpfatal.com. Both ends of 20th Street West were closed for the investigation and remained shut for several hours before reopening at 12:06 a.m. Saturday, according to the CHP-sourced timeline on chpfatal.com.
A Pattern Seen Across the Antelope Valley
Friday's crash follows another fatal collision in Palmdale just days earlier, when a three-car crash at 30th Street West between R. Lee Ermey Avenue and Avenue N-4 killed two people and injured two others, according to the Antelope Valley Press. That crash was reported to CHP at 7:46 p.m., and Ronald Nochez, 48, and Josue Bautista, 36, were pronounced dead at the scene, the Los Angeles County medical examiner's office told the newspaper. Two other people were taken to Antelope Valley Medical Center in Lancaster in critical condition, per the same report.
Pedestrian deaths like Atkins's reflect a broader trend across California. In 2023, pedestrians made up 27 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities statewide, totaling 1,106 deaths, according to UC Berkeley's SafeTREC. The same data shows 75 percent of pedestrian fatalities that year occurred between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., with principal arterial roads the most common site of fatal crashes.
In unincorporated communities of Los Angeles County, pedestrians accounted for almost 30 percent of traffic-collision fatalities recorded between 2015 and 2024, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Investigators have not released further details on the circumstances surrounding Friday's crash, and the case remains active.
