Woman hit by a car in downtown Edmonds dies

The 85-year-old Edmonds woman struck by a car in the 800 block of Walnut in downtown Edmonds Monday afternoon has died, friends reported Thursday.

Long-time Edmonds resident Ellie Bonanno was hit by a vehicle headed east on Walnut Street around 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20, and was taken to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries. Detectives investigating the case “did confirm there were no alcohol or drugs involved,” Edmonds Police spokesman Sgt. Mark Marsh said Thursday night.

“What they are working on now are time and distance calculations which included the age, walking speed and reaction times” of both Bonanno and the driver of the vehicle, he added.

 

  1. I’m sorry to hear about this long time Edmonds resident. My thoughts goes out to her family and friends.

    I am glad the city is doing some type of investigation, We are in our mid 60s, walk fairly fast and all over Edmonds , and yet, we have almost been hit by vehicles in downtown Edmonds many, many times. …..even a local utility truck that just kept coming (and looking at us at the same time coming head on!) on 3rd & Main St. didn’t even flinch looking at us a pedestrians. That is another reason that I was so shocked in regards to the need for “CALMING” traffic on Sunset Avenue. When I first heard about the $$ being spent on Sunset for something that does not exist, my first thought was WHAT ABOUT DOWNTOWN and surrounding streets and CALMING the SPEEDERS who are more often than not in huge vehicles, trucks, etc. and must think their 5,000lbs of steel gives them special powers.

    1. Calming traffic is not at all an issue on Sunset. The issue is pedestrians wanting a view of Puget Sound not having a sidewalk giving them their desired vantage point…so they walk in the street because a sidewalk does not exist on the west side of the street. No other street in the City experiences a situation anywhere close to the degree experienced on Sunset. As I understand the funding, it is expected to come from state and federal grants…like a lot of street improvement funding comes from.

      1. Tere, I believe the original funding for the Sunset Walkway Project was drawn from the Traffic Calming Program via the 2011 Budget Amendment accomplished by Ordinance No. 3857.

        The Budget Amendment Detailed Description found in Ordinance No. 3857 includes the following on page 33:

        “This amendment will provide budget for preliminary design and survey work on the Sunset Walkway Project. Funding from the Traffic Calming Program is being used to pay for the project costs.”

        Apparently staff recommended using $16,000 of traffic calming funds to evaluate the reconfiguration and narrowing of Sunset Avenue. The budget amendment discussed that narrowing the street and moving the parking adjacent to the travel lane are traffic calming features that should reduce traffic speeds and improve conditions for non-motorized users.

  2. I agree with Tere about the need for concern for those who do not acknowledge pedestrians. We often cross 9th at Daley and it is the rare driver who will slow down and stop at that intersection. We notice drivers looking straight ahead and oblivious to people waiting to cross. We need to investigate where stop signs would help and where other signs , MPH machines etc. could slow people in a hurry. Pedestrians need to wear light and reflective clothing. Even at a 4 way stop like 9th and Main I make sure I catch the eye of a driver before crossing the street. People so often are concerned about the cars around them and less aware of the pedestrians.
    An all-city campaign for safety seems very needed. On the positive side, the pedestrian activated flashing lights between 5th and 6th on Main are working well.

  3. The accident occurred on Walnut Street between the two city pathways that intersect on Walnut Street and 8th. The two paths drop walkers right onto Walnut Street. It has always seemed logical that the city would put a crosswalk in since they created and do the upkeep on the pedestrian paths. Maybe this will be what gets us a crosswalk!!!

  4. My elderly mother was killed by a driver on Olympic View Drive in 1993. She had crossed to get her mail and a gal hit her claiming she “darted out in front of her.”

    People need to slow down and be careful in Edmonds. Those who drive carelessly and in a negligent manner should held accountable.

  5. I’m sorry to hear about your mother Frank. I agree that people should be held accountable, perhaps ticketed. A hit to ones pocketbook usually makes people think twice about their negligent actions (and extra $$$ for the city). So many people just speed around town now. Crossing almost any street here seems dangerous, as opposed to four years ago when we moved here. Now we have to constantly be totally alert to so many fast moving vehicles. Maybe more signs….or better signs and warnings to people traveling through here. If people KNOW they’re going to get ticketed speeding here, perhaps they will respond to that every time they travel the streets of Edmonds.

  6. The death of Ellie was a preventable tragedy and my condolences to her family and friends.

    My question is how do we hold the parties accountable for this tragedy and limit the probability of it happening again?

    The two parties accountable are the Edmonds PD for creating a traffic enforcement culture in which there is an unlikely threat of consequences and the vast majority of citizens in our city that are incredibly self-absorbed.

    A) If there were any true threat of consequences to speeding, running stop signs or tailgating those that abide by the laws of our great city, people would think twice about disobeying the laws.

    B) The citizens of our great city are equally responsible and doubly disgusting. My neighbors and fellow citizens seem to feel that their immediate needs and time are more important than the safety of their neighbors and/or children walking to school on streets without sidewalks and often in the dark.

    I live in the Seaview neighborhood and the atrocious behavior of my neighbors and fellow citizens is the most disgusting part of living in Edmonds. It is a daily occurrence that I witness dozens of cars rolling though 4 way stop signs, going much faster than the 25 mph posted limit. Let alone cutting corners short in which I have to brake to keep from colliding. When I’ve been fortunate enough to confront the inconsiderate neighbor, I get responses like; “I was there first”, “What does it matter nobody was there?” and “I wasn’t paying attention”. (Let alone the f-off responses from those that know they’ve just exhibited extremely poor judgment) We have two electronic speed limit signs that were posted on Olympic View Drive about a year ago and there isn’t a day in which I don’t see many people posting 33 – 40 mph (in a 25 mph zone) on that sign and don’t slow down once it flashes their speed at them. Why? Because there is no fear of being caught. To me it appears as though once those signs went up, the Edmonds PD reduced their traffic enforcement in the area. As I rarely see officers patrolling let alone monitoring the speed of drivers.

    My question for the EDP is, are you collecting any data from the electronic signs indicating the average speed for a given period? Not only for the permanent electronic signs, but that POS you haul around on a trailer and place in various locations around the city. If not, why not? If so, why do we not see more officers enforcing the law during the peak periods the data has told you traffic appears to be speeding?

    My question for my fellow citizens and neighbors is, what in your life is so important that you cannot spare an extra second or two to ensure the safety of your fellow citizens and neighbors? For example, let’s say you live in an Edmonds location requiring you to hit 10 stop signs before you hit a main thoroughfare (highly unlikely), If you just completely stopped and counted 1 one-thousand, that means it cost you an extra 10 seconds of your commute. Is there something so important about your life you can’t spare 10 seconds for the safety of your neighbors, children and/or fellow citizens? Answer = No!

    Unfortunately this will happen again and it is likely to be another senior or a child. Nobody deserves to have their safety jeopardized because selfish individuals can’t forfeit 10 seconds of time or that law enforcement has chosen to chase shinier objects.

    We should all be embarrassed and ashamed of the behavior currently occurring.

  7. Mr. Peterson:
    Your very complete description of the traffic situation in Edmonds is right on. What you have witnessed in your Seaview area is the norm throughout our city. Our city has simply got to come up with more resources for our police department that will be dedicated to traffic enforcement. This may require a re-ordering of priorities, but so be it.

  8. let me first start by offering my sincere condolences to the family of Ellie. i am so saddened at the senseless loss of a beautiful woman whom i have had the privilege of knowing for 26 years. i no longer live in the Edmonds area, but still work here. i used to live in town and remember my husband telling me when i first moved there ” do not even do 1 mile over the speed limit in this town because you WILL get a ticket!!!” now when i drive around i can’t believe i don’t see more tickets being written. Especially now with all the bars in town. i have seen a lot of close calls between cars and pedestrians. especially at the fountain. Ellie was very passionate about her town and the safety of it. she attended most of the town hall meetings. she was paramount in the upkeep and safety of the walking path. and i know if she were here and it was another who was killed or injured as she was, she would be at the next town meeting raising heck with the city. i hope and pray that something will be done in honor of her to keep this tragedy from happening again. this brings new meaning to. “it’s an Edmonds kind of day” I pray for the driver who was involved in this tragedy. this is something that individual will have to live with the rest of his/her life. again, my deepest sympathy to the family for the loss of such an amazing lady.

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