Hit-and-run kills 79-year-old leaving supermarket in South Carolina, coroner says
A 79-year-old woman was killed in a hit-and-run as she left a supermarket in South Carolina, officials said.
The woman reportedly was walking to her car when a pickup truck hit her in a Food Lion parking lot. The pedestrian was flown to a hospital, where she died about an hour after the Jan. 31 crash, according to news releases from the S.C. Highway Patrol and the Oconee County Coroner’s Office.
At the time of the incident, the woman was in a crosswalk outside the grocery store, state troopers said.
The person behind the wheel was accused of leaving the Seneca-area scene, but authorities tracked down the pickup truck. Troopers said they also found the driver, identified as 66-year-old Lori Smith. She was arrested on a charge of felony driving under the influence, The Journal and WHNS reported.
The woman hit outside the store was identified as 79-year-old Laura Ross Hunkele, a Seneca resident. The coroner’s office said she died from crash-related injuries, and an autopsy was scheduled for Feb. 1.
The S.C. Highway Patrol, which is investigating the crash, didn’t immediately share additional information with McClatchy News on Feb. 1.
Seneca is roughly 35 miles southwest of Greenville.
This story was originally published February 1, 2024 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Hit-and-run kills 79-year-old leaving supermarket in South Carolina, coroner says."
