A 77-year-old Nebraska woman is recovering in an Albuquerque hospital after being struck by a full-size pickup truck while in a crosswalk last week in downtown Durango.
On Wednesday, the woman was taken off a ventilator and was able to walk short distances, said Cmdr. Nick Stasi with the Durango Police Department.
“I don’t know what her long-term recovery will look like, but she is making improvements,” he said Friday.
Police have pieced together the events leading up to the Oct. 5 crash after reviewing footage from a downtown surveillance camera.
The woman was on the east side of Main Avenue, crossing College Drive from south to north, when the southbound pickup turned left from Main Avenue onto College Drive and hit her, according to police.
The driver of the truck, an 82-year-old man from Ignacio, missed the green left-turn arrow and proceeded to make a left turn on a solid green light at the same time the walk signal illuminated for pedestrians, Stasi said.
Neither the driver nor the pedestrian have been identified.
The woman was initially described as being 70 years old, but police confirmed Friday she is 77. She was in town with her husband, but police were not immediately sure why they were in town.
Police have not yet filed any charges and continue to investigate the case.
The woman was airlifted to UNM hospital in Albuquerque with a head injury and brain bleeding.
shane@durangoherald.com