Pedestrians cautious after fatal accident near Town Center Mall

Pedestrians cautious after fatal accident near Town Center Mall
Published: Jun. 28, 2022 at 6:47 PM EDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - The Charleston Police and Fire departments had parts of Lee Street East blocked off for hours Tuesday after a woman was fatally struck by a blue 2015 Toyota Camry near the Town Center Mall’s parking garage.

Brandi Hill, who works near the mall, said she was stopping for lunch when she started to get messages from her loved ones.

“A coworker actually emailed me as I was on the way to lunch and asked if everybody was OK to see if it was somebody we knew,” she recalled. “Everybody’s kind of in shock.”

Alexandra Macia said she walks down Lee Street regularly and considers most drivers to be cautious.

“I’ve lived here my entire life and I can count on one hand the number of deaths that have happened in downtown Charleston,” she said. “That’s extremely startling and not something I’d ever been used to here.”

Hill, however, said drivers have tended to speed recently, especially when there is road construction.

“Drivers can go up to 30 to even 50 [miles per hour],” she said. “I feel like usually, it’s pretty safe but sometimes you gotta watch for the cars.”

It’s a watchful eye Macia and Hill believe will be more open following the accident.

“One hundred percent, I’m not going to cross anywhere but a crosswalk now,” Macia said. “I’m honestly probably not going to cross the street if there’s not a car coming for miles down the road.”

I’m definitely going to be a little more cautious from here on out watch those block signals,” Hill added. “It is still a little shocking that something so close, this bad happened.”

The Charleston Police Department’s Accident Investigation Bureau is handling the investigation, with possible charges pending.

The woman’s name has not been released pending notification of her family.

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