Acquaintance Recalls Bus Victim as an Active Senior

Patricia Fink, a longtime Ventura resident who was struck and killed by a bus earlier this week, was described by family and friends as a spry, self-sufficient senior who was doing what she loved most at the time of the accident--taking a walk.

Fink, 76, died Tuesday afternoon at Ventura County Medical Center after a South Coast Area Transit bus ran over her legs in what witnesses said appeared to be a freak accident.

“She was a good person. She was very independent and didn’t ask anyone to help her. She would ask people what she could do for them,” said Mildred Lane, manager of the Mission Park Apartments where Fink lived since 1990.

The accident occurred about 1 p.m. at the intersection of Ventura Avenue and Main Street as Fink walked home from grocery shopping. She was struck by the bus when her cart got stuck as she pushed it from the roadway onto a sidewalk, police said.

The bus driver was not cited and police were still investigating the accident Wednesday.

Lane said Fink’s death shocked residents of the 52-unit complex where she lived on South Ventura Avenue. Lane described her as a healthy and alert walker who was familiar with city buses because she was a regular rider.

“She always used to walk up to the corner to catch the bus to go to Kmart or the doctor. She went all over,” Lane said. “Here today, gone tomorrow. It’s a shock.”

When she wasn’t walking to the market to buy groceries for herself or neighbors, Fink liked to stroll to Burger King for lunch or stay in and watch television with her cat named Kitty, Lane said.

“She was very outgoing and she loved to be out and about,” said Christin Rubesh, Fink’s niece.

Fink, who was born Feb. 22, 1922, in San Diego, moved to Ventura in 1968 after marrying Chester Fink. The couple managed local apartment complexes before he died eight years ago, Rubesh said.

In addition to her niece, Fink is survived by a nephew, Donald Enochson.