Pedestrian killed when hit by SUV on Costa Mesa sidewalk; driver arrested
A white Mercedes-Benz SUV is stopped on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa on Friday afternoon after swerving onto a sidewalk and hitting a pedestrian, along with a light pole and a bus bench.
A 64-year-old pedestrian was killed Friday afternoon when an SUV veered onto a sidewalk in Costa Mesa, smashing through a light pole and a bus stop, according to authorities.
Police arrested the SUV’s driver on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of drugs.
Authorities identified her as Anna Marie McPherson, 45, of Irvine. She and two children in the SUV were unhurt, police said.
The Mercedes-Benz was headed south on Newport Boulevard near the end of the 55 Freeway around 2:30 p.m. when it swerved and hit a light pole in front of the Travelodge motel at 1951 Newport, according to police.
Witnesses told investigators that a maintenance worker who was walking on the sidewalk heard the noise and turned around in time to see the SUV before it struck him, sending him flying about 15 feet.
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A bus bench and a light pole were hit by an SUV that also struck and killed a pedestrian in front of the Travelodge motel on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa.
The SUV then rolled over the man and slammed into a concrete bus bench, said Anthony Dixon, who was bicycling toward the scene as the crash happened.
The impact sent the bench flying a few dozen feet into another light pole, Dixon said.
“That’s when I turned around and said, ‘She killed him,’” Dixon said.
Paramedics took the man to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he died of his injuries, police said.
Police asked that anyone with information about the case call traffic investigators at (714) 754-5264.
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Jeremiah Dobruck, [email protected]
Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck
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