A woman has died after she was struck by a vehicle on Tucsonโs west side Tuesday morning.
Shortly before 5 a.m., officers and Tucson Fire personnel were sent to the 3900 block of North Flowing Wells Road, near West Roger Road, after receiving multiple reports about a collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian. Medics rendered aid to Laura Patricia Ortega, 46, but she was pronounced dead at the scene, Tucson police said.
Detectives determined that Ortega was crossing Flowing Wells Road in an unknown direction when a white 2017 Ram Promaster 1500 struck her while traveling south in the median lane, police said. The driver of the vehicle, who was not impaired, immediately stopped and cooperated with the investigation.
At the time of the crash, Ortega was not in a crosswalk and was wearing dark clothing, police said. The street lighting in the area was only partially operational and was only working on the west side of the roadway.
Police said mid-block crossing by Ortega was the major contributing factor in the collision. No charges or citations have been issued.
Close to 43,000 people died in a traffic crash in 2021, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That's up from about 39,000 deaths in 2020.
