A 78-year-old Coachella woman who died in a collision on Dillon Road last week was struck by a vehicle as she stood beside two parked vehicles, investigators said.
Linda Burtenshaw was pronounced dead about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Dillon and Lamel Drive in Sky Valley, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s office. She suffered fatal injuries about 15 minutes earlier.
Burtenshaw had been in one of two vehicles parked along westbound Dillon, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Both vehicles’ hazard lights were activated and the rear vehicle, a 2020 Infinity, had its hood up.
A 2018 Chevrolet was heading west when it drifted onto the right shoulder and struck the rear of the Infinity before hitting Burtenshaw, who was standing on its left side.Dillon is a two-lane road and the collision scene is in an area without street lights.
Investigators say drugs and alcohol did not appear to be factors in the collision, but other details were not released, including whether any other injuries were reported.
Burtenshaw is at least the eighth pedestrian to die this year after being hit by a vehicle across the Coachella Valley.Two fatalities each have occurred in Indio and on Interstate 10 and the others were in Bermuda Dunes, Desert Hot Springs and Palm Springs.
There were just as many pedestrian fatalities in 2020 through the end of March. The year ended with 25 fatalities.