76-Year-Old Pedestrian Killed Near Hampton
HAMPTON, Minn. (WCCO) -- The family of a pedestrian, who was hit and killed early Monday morning on her daily walk, say they are devastated.
According to the State Patrol, the crash happened around 6:30 a.m. on Highway 50, east of Highway 52 in Hampton. Seventy-six-year-old Alonza Raway died as a result of the accident.
Her granddaughter said she treated everyone she met like family and according to her family, she rarely strayed from her routine.
Like clockwork, every morning at 6:30 a.m., Raway would grab her flashlight and walk down her driveway, across Highway 50, to get the newspaper. It was dark and investigators believe she never saw the car coming that hit her.
"The person was driving on Highway 50. It was a route that he drives everyday to work. It was just a situation where she was just in the road and it appears to be unavoidable that he couldn't stop in time to miss her," said Lt. Eric Roeske with the Minnesota Sate Patrol.
Raway did not survive her injuries.
Her family requested privacy during this difficult time, and neighbors broke down at the mention of her name.
They say Raway was the sweetest woman, who loved life and people.
The State Patrol says recently they have investigated several accidents next to high-speed roadways between people and cars.
They want people to be careful when on, or around, these busy roadways to avoid getting hit.
"It speaks to how deceiving speeds can be especially when all you see are headlights approaching and we just urge anyone crossing a high-speed roadway to really exercise caution and allow plenty of extra time if you are crossing the roadway like this," Roeske said.
The driver of the car, 56-year-old Mark Coulter did stop and has been talking to investigators about the accident.
The State Patrol says it will be up to the Dakota County attorney's office to decide if any charges will be filed. That won't happen until the investigation is complete.
