Medical examiner: Witnesses said pickup's driver was trying to beat traffic before striking pedestrian

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office has released its report on a fatal crash that happened near Lincoln and Howell in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon, June 29th.

83-year-old Christa Pittman was struck by a pickup truck while crossing Lincoln Avenue. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The report says Pittman died as a result of blunt force injuries to the head and neck. Her death has been ruled an accident.

The crash happened around 11:30 a.m.



The report indicates Pittman was in a crosswalk with the right-of-way on Lincoln when she was struck by the pickup truck, which was turning left onto Lincoln. The report says she flew approximately 10 to 15 feet into the air before landing on Lincoln Avenue.

According to the medical examiner, the pickup truck, driven by a 59-year-old Milwaukee man, was traveling at approximately 25 miles-per-hour at the time of the crash. It's unclear whether he saw Pittman in the crosswalk, according to the report. Witnesses said the driver was trying to beat oncoming traffic.

The driver of the pickup truck remained at the scene after the crash.



Friends said Pittman was from Germany, and had lived in the United States for many years. She had no siblings, and her parents are deceased. She has been married and divorced, and had no children.

Her friends are now planning her funeral.

Some who live in the area said it was only a matter of time before something like this happened in the busy intersection.

"It`s just terrible," Christina Jones said.



"I was shocked. I was really shocked, because it shouldn`t have happened," Susan Santi said.

"The cars around here go too fast. They don`t stop," Maria Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez lives up the street from where this happened. She said she's feared for awhile that something like this might happen -- and said the "walk" signals aren't long enough -- especially for those with disabilities or the elderly.

Alderman Tony Zielinski says the issue is bad drivers.



 

"She had the signal in her favor. I don`t know what else you can do right now to prevent something like this from happening if some guy wants to just run through the light and run her over," Alderman Zielinski said.

Alderman Tony Zielinski



One future solution Zielinski said he will propose is to install surveillance cameras with radar guns.

"If these drivers know that they`re going to get tickets by violating the speed limits, they`re going to drive more carefully," Zielinski said.

Pittman's neighbors said they hope city leaders pay attention to their concerns. They don't want the woman they describe as always smiling to die in vain.

 

"Please do something before there is another death.  I don`t want it to happen to any of my friends. God bless her," Santi said.

Fatal crash at Lincoln & Howell



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