WPB woman, 85, struck and killed by SUV as she walked along Okeechobee Blvd.
WESTGATE — An 85-year-old woman died after an SUV struck her on Friday afternoon as she walked along Okeechobee Boulevard in the Westgate neighborhood, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said Saturday.
Maria Hortencia Affortunato, a Century Village resident, was walking west on the sidewalk in the 1900 block of Okeechobee at Church Street, approaching the Cricket Wireless store, just after 1:30 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
At the same time, a 2017 Ford Escape being driven by a 36-year-old West Palm Beach woman was leaving the store's parking lot to head east onto Okeechobee, deputies said. The side of the Escape struck Affortunato as the driver made the turn, and she was pulled underneath the SUV, deputies said.
Affortunato was dragged a short distance by the SUV before it came to a stop. West Palm Beach Fire-Rescue workers took her to St. Mary’s Medical Center, where she died a short time later of her injuries, deputies said.
The SUV’s driver was not injured. No charges were pending against her as of Monday.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Woman, 85, dies after being struck by SUV while walking on WPB street
