Woman Killed Crossing Street Near Swap Meet

An 82-year-old woman died Sunday after being struck by a car in front of a senior citizen residence near Ventura College, authorities said.

The accident occurred about 12:15 p.m. at the entrance to the Ventura TownHouse, 4900 Telegraph Road.

Iola Watson had been shopping for produce at a swap meet across the street at the college and was on her way home to Varsity Court when she was struck crossing Telegraph Road by a car in the eastbound lane, police said.

She died at the scene, said Police Officer Mike Van Atta.

“We are at a loss as to why the pedestrian and the driver of the vehicle could not see each other,” said Cpl. John Turner. Investigators said the driver, whose name was not available, was not traveling at an unsafe speed.

Residents and employees of the Ventura TownHouse expressed sadness about the death. Those interviewed said the intersection, which has no crosswalks or signal lights, is especially dangerous on the weekends, when the swap meet attracts elderly residents.

Even though Watson was not a resident of the Ventura TownHouse, many of the seniors who make purchases at the swap meet cross Telegraph Road in front of the facility rather than cross in the controlled intersections at Day Road to the east or Estates Avenue to the west.

Mary Hutchinson, a receptionist at the Ventura TownHouse, said a traffic light is needed at the intersection.

“A lot of our people drive,” she said.

Residents of the facility had asked for a traffic light in the past, but the idea was never formally presented to authorities, said Belle Prevedello, 80.

“It’s a bad corner,” Prevedello said. “I won’t cross there.”