An elderly Lucerne man was hit by a car and killed while attempting to walk across Highway 20 on Saturday.
The incident occurred just before 5:30 p.m. California Highway Patrol investigators say that the victim, 84, was crossing the road near the intersection of Pomo Way as a 2001 Ford Escort driven by a 56-year-old man also from Lucerne, approached heading east.
With clear weather and good road conditions, investigators could not determine why the driver failed to see the pedestrian until too late to avoid a collision.
When he spotted a man walking across his path at the last second, the driver yanked his car hard to the left in an effort to avoid the victim, but struck him on the passenger side near the headlight. The force of the blow knocked the victim onto the hood of the Ford. He hit the windshield before being thrown to the shoulder of the road.
First responders arrived quickly, but pronounced the man dead at the scene.
According to CHP officer Ryan Erickson, the driver was evaluated on location and found not to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. There was no indication of fault in the initial report and no arrest made.
The driver was wearing a safety belt and suffered no physical injury.
Erickson added that investigators had yet to determine if drugs or alcohol were contributing factors to the victim’s actions.
In October a Ukiah man was killed attempting to cross Highway 20 on foot in Upper Lake. That accident also occurred under clear conditions in the early evening. The driver was found not to be impaired.
Last week a woman died and two men suffered serious injuries in a head on collision on a different stretch of the highway. In that instance speed and alcohol contributed to the accident.
