Authorities released the name Tuesday of an 83-year-old woman who was struck and killed by a van on a street in unincorporated La Mesa.
Dorothy Stephens of La Mesa was trying to cross the 10800 block of Calle Verde in the Rancho San Diego area with a friend when a Chevrolet Express 3500 hit them about 6:30 p.m. Monday, according to the Medical Examiner's Office and California Highway Patrol.
Medics took Stephens to a nearby park in preparation to be flown to a hospital, but she died before the arrival of an air ambulance.
Her 77-year-old female companion was taken to a hospital for treatment of serious injuries, CHP public-affairs Officer Brian Pennings said.
The accident remained under investigation as of Tuesday afternoon, and it was unclear if the involved driver, a 55-year-old La Mesa man, was at fault, according to Pennings. Witnesses said he did not appear to be speeding when the women were struck, the officer said.
– City News Service