Woman Hit, Killed on Freeway Identified

A Simi Valley mother of seven who was fatally struck by a sport utility vehicle on the Ronald Reagan Freeway had been on her way to Moorpark College, where she was studying to become a nurse, authorities said Thursday.

Susan Kay Nilsen, 43, was driving in a westbound lane about 6 p.m. Wednesday when her van was rear-ended by a pickup truck just west of Madera Road, California Highway Patrol Sgt. Mike Cooper said.

Nilsen pulled to the center divider, and the other driver, a 17-year-old boy, stopped on the right shoulder. He apparently hit Nilsen’s van when she suddenly slowed in the fast lane, Cooper said.

As Nilsen walked across the freeway to exchange insurance information, she was struck by a Chevrolet Blazer when she bent to pick up some paperwork she dropped, officers said.

Christopher Cronkrite, 30, was traveling about 65 mph in the fast lane when his Blazer struck Nilsen. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:20 p.m. Cronkrite will not be charged.

Deputy county coroner James Baroni said Nilsen was a licensed vocational nurse at Simi Valley Hospital and was studying to become a registered nurse.

She moved from Provo, Utah, with her husband, Kevin, about two years ago, authorities said. Her seven children range in age from 14 to 22.

Nilsen was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the time of the accident, her husband was doing volunteer work at the church’s main temple in Los Angeles.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Reardon Mortuary in Simi Valley.