RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Family members of a disabled Richmond woman are remembering her after she was hit and killed by a car last month – and asking why the driver has not been charged in her death.
According to Richmond police, Hazel Mcdonald Anderson was in a motorized wheelchair when she was hit and killed on May 31.
Keisha Mcdonald is Anderson’s neice, and she told 8News the family just wants answers in this difficult time.
“Especially since we had just went through a death and then this one was like a whole 30 days after,” Mcdonald said. “We are at a standstill and we’re asking why?”
The Accident
Officers arrived at East Broad Street near Oliver Hill Way after 7:15 p.m. for a report of a car striking a person.
Screenshots of the surveillance video from the APlus convenience store and Exxon gas station at that intersection show Anderson at the bus stop and then in the street moments before she was hit.
Mcdonald said she got a call that her aunt had been hit by a car and was taken to the hospital. She said she didn’t find out that her aunt had passed away until around 11 p.m.
“We haven’t gotten any apologies. We haven’t got anything from anyone,” Mcdonald said.
She said her late aunt was personable and outgoing, “She’s the type to always keep you laughing. She had a good heart.”
A video, sent by an 8News viewer, shows the area roped off with heavy police presence and pieces of Anderson’s wheelchair scattered in the street. Police said the driver stayed on scene. However, what led up to the collision is still unclear.
“They’re not pressing charges and we don’t understand why,” Mcdonald said.
Mcdonald told 8news, the family’s insurance adjuster told them the driver of the car had the right of way.
Remembering Hazel Mcdonald Anderson
Neighbors in the area told 8News that they saw her often on her way to the convenience store on the corner.
Randy Thomas lives nearby, and he said he was a witness of the police presence and knew Anderson.
“We see her every day. She’s a very nice woman,” Thomas said. “I love her to death like my mother. When I saw her, that broke my heart.”
According to the manager at the Exxon gas station and A Plus convenience store, she had just stopped in the store before she was hit. He said she was a sweet woman and stopped in multiple times a day.
Neighbors who live near the East Broad Street and North 17th Street intersection hope that cars slow down for pedestrians, as the intersection is very busy. Loved ones and community members are now advocating for changes at the busy intersection.
Richmond police said more information about the incident will be released in the near future. Anyone with further information about this incident is asked to contact RPD Crash Team Investigator Sergeant D. Cuffley at (804)-912-6487 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.
