Police say a driver struck and killed a woman lying in the Walmart parking lot in South Anchorage Wednesday afternoon.
According to a police statement the collision outside the store, on the Old Seward Highway near 88th Avenue, was reported just before 3 p.m. Wednesday. In an update Thursday morning, police said the victim — identified Thursday afternoon as 52-year-old Mary Rickteroff-Andrew — was lying at the east end of an aisle in the store’s parking lot.
“The adult female driver of a Toyota Sienna minivan turned into the aisle from the parking lot access road, driving over the woman on the ground as she completed her turn,” police said. “AFD medics declared the victim deceased at the scene shortly after their arrival.”
The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with officers, according to the statement. No charges had been filed in the collision as of Thursday morning.
Police spokeswoman Renee Oistad declined to answer questions about the incident Thursday morning, citing the continuing investigation.
Police are still examining why Rickteroff-Andrew was lying in the parking lot.
Her death comes just days after another pedestrian fatality on Old Seward, when 30-year-old Brian Pederson was killed in a hit-and-run collision early Sunday near East Klatt Road. Police arrested the driver who allegedly struck Pederson, 29-year-old Marsean Hadley, on manslaughter and DUI charges later that morning.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
