LINDALE, TX (KLTV) -
Authorities have released the identity of a woman who was hit and killed by an SUV while crossing the street in Lindale.
Officials said 61 year old Karen Hand was killed while trying to cross highway 69, just north of Interstate 20.
The accident happened at approximately 7:30PM Saturday night.
Hand’s friend Sherry Hulsey said she drove through the area that night and immediately thought something could be wrong.
“We came through after it had happened,” Hulsey said. “I just told my husband, man hope it's not Karen.”
“It's such a sudden and disappointing way for somebody to go who was so full of life and had gone through so many hardships,” friend Ashley Marsh said.
Hand’s friends said it was a crossing she made all the time.
“She had an old van, a good time van is what we called it, and it broke down,” Hulsey said. “She was having to walkm, having trouble making ends meet anyway. She couldn't afford another car.”
Hand lived in apartments just west of the restaurants along highway 69. Officials said she had crossed the highway to get dinner from Burger King Saturday night, but on her way back across, she was hit. The area where she crossed did not have a crosswalk, nor overhead lighting.
“I don't think the person driving was at fault,” Hulsey said. “It was just misjudged, especially at night.”
Saturday’s fatal impact occurred just steps away from where another man was struck and killed just 10 days before.
Marsh believes that’s something the city needs to take a look at as soon as possible.
“It infuriated me,” Marsh said. “Accidents will happen. But for concentrated areas like that, I don't think it would hurt for some type of precaution to be made for those that are walking. I think the city could step up in that area.”
Now, Hand’s friends are left only with memories.
“She always told you, no matter what was going on, that she loved you,” Hulsey said. “I love you girl. No matter what.”
Hand’s friends said she is survived by three children.
The occupants of the vehicle involved in the crash were not injured. Authorities said texting while driving did not play a factor in the crash.
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