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Elderly Woman Killed Crossing the Street in Scranton

SCRANTON —  An elderly woman was killed when she crossed the street and was hit by a car in downtown Scranton Sunday afternoon. According to officers, a D...
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SCRANTON --  An elderly woman was killed when she crossed the street and was hit by a car in downtown Scranton Sunday afternoon.

According to officers, a Dodge Challenger was turning onto Lackawanna Avenue in front of the Mall at Steamtown when the driver hit Loretta Kempinski, 82, of Scranton, as she was crossing the street. She died shortly thereafter.

As a result, the intersection with Wyoming Avenue was shut down for two hours as officers investigated the scene.

The head of security at the Mall at Steamtown told Newswatch16 that the intersection can be tricky with the way the sun sits just over the mall at certain times of the day, which can make things much more difficult to see.

The car was loaded onto a tow truck and taken away as that investigation continues. At this point, police have not said if the woman had the walk sign or if the driver had a red light, or if something else played a part.

People in the area say they hope drivers take this as a lesson to be extra careful when you're going through busy intersections.

Kristen Woods works just down the street, so she sees cars whizzing by every day. Many of those drivers, she says, don't think twice about people crossing to and from the mall.

"Always slow down, especially before a turn," said Woods. "And don't just look quickly, you want to be aware of everybody."

"Look both ways," added Michael Miller of Scranton. "Be careful driving, and do the speed limit and just drive safe."

UPDATE TUESDAY - The Lackawanna County coroner said Kempinski died from multiple traumatic injuries and her death has been ruled an accident.

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