Edmonds woman hit by SUV Tuesday identified

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office has released the identity of the woman who was struck and killed by an SUV while crossing the street at 4th and Bell Street Tuesday, May 20. She is Lexie J. Hess, 73, of Edmonds.

The cause of death was “blunt force injuries of the head and torso,” the Medical Examiner’s office said.

According to Edmonds police, Hess was crossing 4th Ave North, eastbound on Bell Street, when she was struck by a late model SUV driven by a 36-year-old Edmonds woman. The driver, who had been initiating a left turn onto 4th Ave North, stopped immediately and called 911, police said.

At the time of the accident, police said there was no indication that drugs and/or alcohol were a factor in this collision

Police spokesman Sgt. Mark Marsh said the investigation is continuing and “it will be some time” before it is completed.

  1. NEVER step off the curb onto the asphalt, crosswalk or not, without assessing all vehicular traffic in your area. ASSUME drivers are on drugs, on the phone, emotionally upset , in a hurry or have poor vision or are just plain inattentive. Unless you are interested in a game of Russian roulette!

    1. I’m so tired of hearing this so-called ‘tip’ being given out as if it was something forgotten by the victim. Even if advice to “Look out!” is heeded it does nothing to free pedestrians from the threat of the careless who run people over. How do you know this lady didn’t assess the situation and was run over anyway as she made her way across? This kind of advice is walking the thin line of blaming the victim.

      “Better watch out for cars or else!” takes power away from pedestrians and gives it all to the negligent perpetrators of this accident. People in cars should “watch out” or else pay the price. For them it only means slowing down and waiting.

      The only way to completely stop these kinds of deaths is to remove the vehicle from the equation. Any public works department that thinks they’ve made things safe by putting in a few signs or painting lines on the ground clearly has not done their job. Design it so it can’t happen. Don’t design it so it that safety relies on the attention of the careless or you will never succeed in making it safe.

  2. According to eye witnesses, Lexie had checked the intersection, and all cars were stopped at the stop signs. She was almost half-way through the intersection when she was mowed down by the vehicle who decided to turn left before Lexie was cleared of the crosswalk. Lexie’s phone was found in her pocket, according to her family. She was a half of a block from home. We will all miss this classy, gracious friend, wife, mother and grandmother.

  3. Let’s just KNOW for NOW that the government of this city is going to put the SAFETY of its CITIZENS FIRST!! No more talk, just do the job.

    It’s very hard to believe that the Public Works Department would actually have to “order” a post and crossing sign for the area where Ms. Bonano was hit…..what?! there’s no posts or signs around some Public Works building?!…… And the government wonders why the citizens are mad……all talk

    My thoughts go out to this family in there time of loss……We always walk, and have passed by Lexie’s house so many times

    …..It’s so hard going up Walnut St. and now it will be hard going past Lexie’s home.

    **** Anybody who walks the streets of Edmonds knows this could have just as easily have been them. Speaking of economic development, good businesses don’t come to towns that are NOT SAFE for its citizens on the streets or to towns where the government doesn’t make this a priority.

  4. I have worked for a variety of cities in our area as a city planner for many years. Creating safe and pleasant streets for pedestrians has always been a top priority in our profession. The 4th and Bell intersection falls into the gold standard category for pedestrians. At a four way stop crosswalk like this, even a hearing or sight impaired person, (or a quick moving young child) should always be totally safe. All the responsibility is on drivers to protect them from harm. I am assuming the police will subpoena this driver’s phone records. If we can’t even walk safely in the Edmonds bowl, the safest pedestrian place in south county, then the police must proactively make pedestrian safety their highest traffic enforcement priority.

  5. I always understood that the pedestrian IN THE CROSSWALK is always to be yielded to ……….by the person that is operating a vehicle that weighs thousands of pounds

    Also I noticed that the pedestrian marking sign that was put up where Ms. Bonano was hit (between 7th and 8th and Walnut) appeared to be quite small, set back and not very close to the area that dumps people out on the street by the two trails……where she was hit. Maybe the sign should be closer or at least at the very spot where those trails are……You can’t really even tell where the path/trails are if you are in a car……Not until you are right there. Maybe a slow sign first where the other sign is right now, and then at the spot of the trail dump to street the PEDESTRIAN/figure sign….Just a thought….

    From the street you see really nothing as those two trails looked to be set back maybe 15-20 feet, in-between houses. Just a thought for better safety….I just drove up there, and noticed this. I drove by there the other day and didn’t even see the sign, because it wasn’t very close to the trail dump

  6. I always remember what my drivers ed teacher told me many, many years ago. . . . . you NEVER have the right of way, until someone gives it to you. . . . . . . never assume you are right . . . you can be “dead right”. . . i remember it all these years later. .. my heart and condolences go out to this lady’s family.

  7. Drivers rarely fully stop at all the 4 way stop intersections in Edmonds. I wish the police would camp out more and pull people over. Everyone’s in a big hurry.

    1. Agree with Bill – some emphasis “patrols” might help. At best, stop signs are too frequently treated as yield signs. In residential areas, I’ve observed too many drivers only slow down enough to be able to negotiate the turn from one arterial to another.

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