‘Happened so fast.’ Witness recounts chilling details of Orange hit-and-run involving pedestrian
A West Haven woman is dead after she was hit by two cars while crossing a busy stretch in Orange.
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A West Haven woman is dead after she was hit by two cars while crossing a busy stretch in Orange. Now police are looking for one of the drivers who’s accused of taking off from the scene. Police identified the victim as 43-year-old Khurshida Mohamadi.
“It just happened so fast,” said Shantavia Chappell, who witnessed the incident and called it traumatic.
It happened on Boston Post Road in front of the McDonald’s, not far from the West Haven line, around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday. Chappell had just gone through the drive-thru when she saw a woman standing in the middle of the road.
“In my head, I'm like, ‘Oh my goodness! Why is she in the middle of the street, you know, on her phone? She was looking down on her phone. I don't know if she was texting or on speaker or whatever,” Chappell recalled. “As soon as I had this thought in my mind, a car came out of nowhere and hit her."
Chappell said the first thing she did was start beeping her horn for people to stop, but almost immediately, another car hit the woman, who was lying in the road.
“I just jumped out my truck and started screaming and crying. I was already on the phone with 911, and the police arrived like within two minutes,” Chappell told News 12.
The victim was rushed to the hospital where she died.
“I just wish I could've warned her,” Chappell said with a sigh.
The driver of the second car stopped and is cooperating, according to police, but the first car kept driving. Chapell described it as a dark color four-door car that was an older model.
“I just feel like how could you do a human being like that?” she said, shaking her head.
Chapell told News 12 the woman was standing in one of the painted islands. They’re outlined by double yellow lines, but the Connecticut Department of Transportation said they’re meant to help cars turn off the busy road safely and aren’t for pedestrians.
Chapell said she believes the woman assumed that was a safe spot. “I think she thought when the cars were coming, they'd just stay in their two lanes on each side and not cross over."
There is a crosswalk about 300 feet away from the crash site at a stoplight. But on Wednesday afternoon, News 12 saw multiple people ignore it and cross right around where the victim did.
“It just gives me chills just talking about it,” said Chapell.
Police said they’re looking for help finding additional witnesses to the crash and locating the evading car, which should have some damage to the left front of it. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Peterson or Detective Bailey at 203-891-2138.
RELATED: Orange police ID pedestrian fatally struck by vehicles on Boston Post Road
