A woman in her 60s was critically injured Wednesday after a car struck her while she was crossing in the crosswalk at West 15th Street and South Denver Avenue in downtown Tulsa. Bystanders, a Tulsa County Sheriff's deputy, EMSA crews and Tulsa police all responded to the scene before she was taken to a local hospital.
According to News On 6, the driver was turning left onto eastbound 15th Street when the vehicle struck the woman in the crosswalk. As KTUL reported, “A woman in her 60s was crossing the street at West 15th Street and South Denver Avenue when a car turning left, onto east 15th Street, hit her in the crosswalk.” The station added that the woman was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
A Tulsa County Sheriff's deputy happened to be among the first people on scene, and the deputy and nearby bystanders tended to the injured woman until EMSA personnel and Tulsa police officers arrived, the station's report notes. Emergency crews then transported her to the hospital, where she remained in critical condition.
Toyota Left With Shattered Windshield
The vehicle involved was identified as a Toyota that sustained a broken windshield from the impact, according to KRMG. The outlet also reported that the Gilcrease Division Traffic Unit is actively investigating the incident and reviewing any possible charges, though no determination has been announced.
A Corridor With a Troubled Safety History
The crash adds to a string of pedestrian incidents along the broader 15th Street corridor in recent months. Just weeks earlier, an 8-year-old boy suffered a broken leg after being struck by a car in a crosswalk near 15th Street and New Haven Avenue outside the Tulsa State Fair, according to Hoodline's earlier report, which noted the boy had been walking through the crosswalk with his mother when the vehicle hit him; it remained unclear at the time whether police would file charges, as that investigation was still ongoing.
About five years before that, 51-year-old Luis Calzada was killed while crossing 15th Street after leaving the Tulsa State Fair, struck by a driver as he crossed the road, per KJRH. Police said at the time that low lighting could have contributed to that crash.
City Had Already Targeted the Street for Upgrades
In response to those earlier dangers, the City of Tulsa added five new crosswalks along 15th Street to improve pedestrian safety near the fairgrounds, KJRH reported. The city used a $150,000 Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Grant to install five rectangular rapid flashing beacons with yellow lights, re-stripe existing crosswalks, add new LED lighting, trim trees along the median and lower the speed limit to 35 mph along the stretch.
Separately, the City of Tulsa has pursued infrastructure work on South Denver Avenue itself. A street rehabilitation project between Riverside Drive and West 13th Street was scheduled to limit traffic to one lane in each direction, according to a City of Tulsa press release. The city contracted with Crossland Heavy Contractors for the $3,127,000 project, funded through the Improve Our Tulsa General Obligation Bond, with completion scheduled for August.
No further details have been released about the woman's identity, the driver involved, or whether charges will ultimately be filed. The Gilcrease Division Traffic Unit's investigation remains ongoing.
