FORT MILL, SC : Pedestrian killed after crash in Fort Mill’s Baxter Village on Friday, 9th September 2016

A 71-year-old pedestrian was killed after being hit by a pickup in Baxter Village early Friday, according to the Highway Patrol.

The crash happened around 7:45 a.m. at the intersection of Market Street and Sutton Road, said Lance Cpl. Gary Miller of the Highway Patrol. Elizabeth Williams was walking east on Sutton Road when she was hit by a 2015 Ford pickup; the driver was trying to turn left from Founders Street onto Sutton Road.

Williams was taken by EMS to a hospital for treatment, York County Coroner Sabrina Gast said. Williams died at the hospital.

The driver of the pickup, a 36-year-old Fort Mill man, was not injured, Miller said. No charges have been filed, and the crash remains under investigation.

The intersection, which was shut down while troopers investigated, sees heavy pedestrian traffic, though some residents say it can be dangerous. Families use the crosswalks getting to and from nearby Orchard Park Elementary School. Children on bicycles and jogging adults are a common sight.

A friend texted Shellie Jaques on Friday asking if she was safe, knowing Jaques regularly walks to and from the school.

“It’s very frequent that you can be crossing the road there, and that drivers will drive within 5 feet of you,” Jaques said.

Especially during rush hour.

“It’s an impatience thing,” Jaques said. “People are always in such a hurry.”

Another mother on her way to pick up a child Friday afternoon at Orchard Park was saddened – but not surprised – to hear what had happened earlier in the day.

“I walk it every day,” she said. “I walk it multiple times. We have contacted the police before about doing something there, and they sit there for a few days but what can they do?”

She suggested perhaps flashing lights to better alert traffic coming across the slight hill at the intersection.

“There are solutions to make it safer,” she said. “There have to be.”

Daniel Beck and Christine Zavesky work at the Allstate office at the intersection.

Zavesky had to reroute her way into work Friday with fire trucks and emergency responders on scene. She understands that area of Sutton Road is a popular connector during high traffic, and staying at or below the posted 35 mph is difficult. She recently received a warning there from an officer on her way to work.

Baxter is a community, residents say, built around pedestrian use. The intersection has crosswalks and signal boxes to tell pedestrians when to cross.

“It’s just a constant stream of pedestrian traffic out there,” said Beck, who was working Friday when Williams was struck. “I know there’s a ton of joggers always going by. There’s a ton of kids that come by here.”

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