Pedestrian was Outside of Crosswalk During Fatal Car Accident

An 83-year-old pedestrian who was killed in a collision on Oct. 6 was not in the crosswalk at the time of the accident, according to Sgt. Christopher Coale.

San Rafael resident Julio Villalobos died at Marin General Hospital due to a severe head injury on Sunday after he was struck by a white 1997 Ford Econoline van on the corner of Canal Street and Medway Road when crossing the street. Before being transported to the hospital, Villalobos was found unconscious on the roadway next to the van.

 According to witnesses, he "had stepped into the path of the van while well outside of the marked crosswalk,” Coale said in a release.   

The 32-year-old driver who reported the accident was cooperative and released without being cited. Neither Villalobos or the driver were intoxicated at the time of the accident, according to Coale.

Villalobos' death stirred questions of the safety of the Medway Canal intersection. The Marin Independent Journal reports that the corner “was one of a handful identified as the most dangerous in Marin” in 1998. In 2007, 57-year-old Hector Gonzales was killed after he was struck in a hit-and-run collision at the same intersection. Three years before, a pedestrian was also injured in a car accident there.

“Since then, the city has completed safety improvements in the intersection and others nearby, including widened sidewalks designed to calm traffic,” the Marin IJ reports.

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