A 93-year-old woman died after an on-duty police officer struck her with his vehicle in a parking lot. This fatal accident happened in Maryland on Friday, August 15, according to a press release.
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On-Duty Police Officer Fatally Hits 93-Year-Old Woman In Parking Lot
Around 6:45 AM local time in Columbia, the non-uniformed Howard County officer was leaving a parking spot in an unmarked police vehicle. This was in the 6400 block of Dobbin Road when he suddenly struck the pedestrian.
She was walking in the “travel portion” of the parking lot when the officer’s 2019 GMC Acadia hit her. The 93-year-old woman was transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment.
Unfortunately, she succumbed to her injuries and was eventually pronounced dead. Howard County police are now investigating this fatal collision. So far, investigators don’t believe speed played a factor.
The officer easily could’ve just not seen the woman walking by as he pulled out of the parking space. Since the incident, HCPD has placed the officer, once assigned to the Technical Support Section, on standard administrative leave.
Victim Regularly Walked Around Parking Lot
WBAL reported that several people knew the victim. She was reportedly a regular customer at Panera Bread. The woman would eat there every morning before leaving to walk around the parking lot.
“I’ve seen her, the same people come every morning (to Panera Bread),” said Jack Backiel, another repeat customer at Panera Bread. “She would just walk across the parking lot, she’d come out and she’d be with somebody.”
Saint Tucker is another person who knows the woman, as they work in a nearby store, and believes it was an unfortunate accident. “It wasn’t even something that could’ve been done (by) seeding (or) anything like that,” Tucker explained.
“This parking lot is not set up for that, even if you tried to speed, you wouldn’t get too far. So, I couldn’t even say they were rushing to a call or anything like that, I honestly do feel like it was an accident if anything.”
The HCPD confirmed that they would reveal the victim’s and the officer’s names in the near future.