Coroner IDs Woman Killed On Highway 74 In Hemet

EAST HEMET, CA — A woman was struck and killed by a pickup truck when she attempted to cross an unlit section of Highway 74 in East Hemet near her home, authorities said Thursday.

The fatality happened about 8:10 p.m. Wednesday on the westbound side of the four-lane corridor, just west of Fourth Street, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Officer Matt Napier told City News Service that the victim — who was identified by the coroner's bureau as 56-year-old Hemet resident Monica Garcia — lived nearby and was apparently walking to a convenience store when she was struck.

"She ran across the highway in an area lacking street lights," Napier said. "There was no crosswalk. The driver of a Toyota Tundra did not see her in time, and the victim was hit in the roadway."

According to the CHP spokesman, the driver immediately stopped and called 911.

Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department paramedics reached the location within a few minutes and pronounced the pedestrian dead at the scene.

Napier said there were multiple witnesses who saw the impact and spoke to officers.

"The woman driving the pickup was not injured, and she was not under the influence," he said.

—City News Service contributed to this report