NORWICH – At around 3:20 p.m. Monday afternoon, an elderly man driving a white sedan struck a female pedestrian in the middle of the street a few yards from a designated crosswalk along North Broad Street in the city.
April Kenyon, 30, Norwich, was struck as she crossed the road by a vehicle operated by 87-year-old John Grotkjaer of New Berlin.
Eyewitnesses said the vehicle hit the woman while traveling at around 20 miles an hour. They said there was no indication the driver saw the woman.
“He just hit her full force. I don’t think he even knew she was there until she crashed into his windshield,” said one eyewitness interviewed by police.
Kenyon was rushed to Wilson Region Medical Center in Binghamton by the Norwich Fire EMS where she is being treated for bruised ribs, a concussion, head lacerations and complaints of arm pain.
Two witnesses reported that Kenyon was crossing the street about 10 feet north of the crosswalk just in front of Garf’s Deli toward Cole Muffler, west to east, across the roadway.
John Aylesworth was sheltering himself from the rain under the edge of the Cole Muffler roof, just outside of the building, when he heard a loud crash and scream.
“I didn’t see the car hit her, but I looked up right after and saw the woman rolling in the street and the car coming to a stop,” he said.
Other eyewitnesses in the deli actually saw the moment of impact.
“She went right over the hood, almost all the way over the roof. It was like she was just a rag doll being tossed in the air,” said one woman.
The woman and another man in the eatery ran out to aid Aylesworth, who rushed to the injured woman immediately after the collision. Others inside the restaurant called 911.
While the local residents waited for emergency services to arrive, the three each said Grotkjaer began backing up his vehicle and nearly hit them while they attended to the woman.
Aylesworth responded to the near-miss by approaching the man’s vehicle and removing his car keys.
“A lot was going on and after he almost hit us a second time, I just went over and pulled his key from the ignition. I figured he shouldn’t be going anywhere anyhow,” he said. Aylesworth gave the keys to officers when they arrived on the scene moments later.
The Norwich City Police responded and questioned the driver following the incident. Officers also performed a reconstruction of the accident. Police said Kenyon was in the crosswalk area at the time of the accident and Grotkjaer was ticketed for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk following the investigation. His car was towed from the scene because of the broken windshield.
The downtown Norwich area was pelted by a brief front of heavy showers for about a 20-minute period Monday, when the accident took place. Other drivers at the scene said their visibility was impaired by the downpour at the time of the accident.