A local woman is dead after she was hit by a car while she was crossing the road Sunday.
Kristen Johnson, 43, of Poplar Street in Marysville, was pronounced dead Sunday evening at Grant Medical Center in Columbus.
“It appears this was just a very unfortunate and tragic crash that occurred,” said Chief Tony Brooks of the Marysville Police Department.
Brooks said that about 6 p.m., Sunday, Johnson was crossing the road in the 700 block of Fifth Street, just west of the Five Points intersection.
Witnesses told investigators Johnson was trying to cross to the north side of East Fifth Street, across the three lanes, “when she was struck by a white Acura TL, traveling eastbound,” according to a statement from the Marysville Police Department.
Witnesses called 911 to report that the woman had been hit.
When officers arrived, they found Johnson still lying in the westbound lane.
“Officers began rendering aid until medics from the Marysville Fire Division arrived and continued life saving measures,” according to a report.
Johnson was taken to Memorial Hospital and later flown to the Grant Medical Center in Columbus, where she died.
The driver of the vehicle that struck Johnson waited at the scene for police to arrive. Police have not released the name of the driver because they have not been charged. Brooks said it does not appear that either Johnson or the driver were impaired or under the influence in any way.
“At this point, we have not seen anything like that, nothing that we are aware of, nothing that would make us suspect that,” Brooks said.
He said the city has no video of the incident, but said that at the time, “it was pretty dark.”
He said the woman was in a brown coat and “the natural lighting had faded quite a bit and it was a dark, overcast kind of evening.”
The chief said investigators have been working with a multi-agency crash task force.
He said that because of the make, model and age of the vehicle, “there is no meta data to be gotten from the vehicle.”
“We are going back to reinterview witnesses and looking for private videos – Ring doorbell cameras or businesses with cameras,” Brooks said.
He said witnesses had “just seen a tragic, overwhelming scene.”
“It is important to give them a few hours to collect themselves and get their thoughts together to make sure we don’t miss something and that nothing gets left out,” Brooks said.
Brooks said “at this point” the driver has not been charged.
“There is nothing on the horizon,” Brooks said. “Unless there is additional evidence or something new we get through these follow up interviews and investigation, I do not anticipate charges.”
Brooks said that while the crash was tragic, he hopes it serves as a warning for drivers and pedestrians in the city.
“It is imperative that pedestrians and drivers both use caution when they are crossing the road or driving in town,” Brooks said.