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Pedestrian fatality in Carmel shocks some locals

Carmel, Indiana, Police Department investigates a fatality involving a pedestrian on July 11, 2019, at City Center Drive near Guilford Avenue. (WISH Photo)

CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — An 81-year-old man was hit and killed by a pickup truck Thursday morning.

Thomas McAllister was hit around 7 a.m. by Coty Coffman, 24, of Indianapolis. McAllister was crossing City Center Drive near Guilford Avenue at a nondesignated crosswalk.

Police say the driver stayed on the scene and cooperated as they investigated. Police also said the sun may have been a factor in the crash. Coffman is not facing any charges.

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Accidents such as this are alarming to the people in this area because they say this could have been anyone.

“Carmel, you feel like it is a really safe place and you feel like everyone is really looking out for each other since there is so much pedestrian traffic. But when you hear something like this happens, it is just, it does scare you a little bit,” said Sam Stucky, who lives near Carmel.

People said it’s rare to not see someone either walking or riding a bike.

“That is the big thing in Carmel, is that you know there is going to be a lot of pedestrians out,” Stucky said.

“People walk the Monon (Trail), they walk up and down the street, they walk around City Center. I mean it is a walking community. There are a lot of people that live here and walk around,” said Lisa Woolsey, who often visits Carmel.

The timing of the crash raised some concerns “It was daylight. It wasn’t raining. It wasn’t dark. It was’t cloudy, foggy, anything,” Woolsey said.

Stucky said a simple look can end up protecting you from a dangerous situation. “Look both ways. Honestly, it’s an easy rule but it’s a good one. Just look both ways before you cross and hopefully that will keep you from getting hurt.”

Even if you think it’s a good time to cross, you need to be cautious in making sure the driver see’s you.

“It is always kind of a timing thing as to if that person is going to pay attention or not even knowing which way they are going on the roundabout because that is an issue big time,” Woolsey said.

She said accidents can happen at anytime even in areas that are considered safe. “We have been sitting right at this intersection and a big truck just blew right through. It not even slowing down, and there were people all over the place.”