On Friday night, a terrible tragedy occurred in the normally bustling Walmart parking lot in North Tonawanda, New York. Faye Haner, a 74-year-old North Tonawanda resident, was killed when an SUV struck her while she was crossing the parking lot of the shop using a certified crosswalk. The neighborhood is still in shock over the death of a beloved local, and the tragedy has rekindled worries about pedestrian safety in busy places like parking lots where these kinds of things are frequently ignored.
Just before dusk, when visibility starts to wane but such places are still lively and busy, the accident happened while the parking lot was crowded with evening shoppers. Chief of Police for North Tonawanda Keith Glass gave the first details of the incident, stating that Haner was hit by an SUV while utilizing a designated crosswalk. The 56-year-old male driver of the car—whose identity has not yet been made public—allegedly neglected to give way to Haner in the terrible incident that resulted in her death. When rescue workers came, Haner was pinned beneath the car and was pronounced dead on the spot in spite of their best attempts to save her.
The store’s operations were abruptly stopped due to the incident, and law enforcement officials immediately roped off the area and started investigating. While police and forensic teams processed the area, gathering evidence and speaking with witnesses who were there during the horrifying incident, the Walmart briefly closed. Police claim that the driver of the SUV is completely assisting them, but it is still unclear how a tragic mistake could have happened in a designated pedestrian area.
