A 70-YEAR-OLD Seaside resident died after a driver ran into her as she crossed Pine Avenue mid-block Tuesday around 6 p.m., and police are not identifying the driver, a 55-year-old woman from Pacific Grove, citing the pending investigation. Kathy Dearing, whose name was released by Pacific Grove P.D. Thursday, was struck while walking across the four-lane road between 18th and 19th streets.

Don Murphy said the tragic crash happened in front of his home. He didn’t hear the collision but said he saw the aftermath when he opened his door to determine why emergency lights were flashing outside.

“The victim, a woman, was lying motionless, face down, in the street,” he recounted. “The driver of the car — an SUV? — that hit her was quite upset while being interviewed by police.”

Murphy said he watched firefighters tend to the injured woman, whom he did not see move or respond, and after about 10 or 15 minutes, they placed her on a gurney and loaded her into the ambulance.

“After several minutes, the ambulance left with flashing lights but did not use a siren,” he said, adding that because he stepped back into his home several times during the ordeal, he did “not know if police administered a sobriety test on the driver.”

Police, Monterey Fire Department and AMR ambulance responded to the scene, and paramedics took Dearing to Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, but she was later transported to the trauma center at San Jose Regional Medical Center, where she died the following day, according to PGPD Cmdr. John Miller.

Considering the woman had been conscious, and even talking, after the collision, Miller said, police and emergency responders were surprised to learn she had died. And because the accident scene was not considered that of a fatality when police initially responded, they are having to backtrack to conduct a more extensive investigation. Miller said the California Highway Patrol is assisting in the effort.

He would not name the driver, however, saying making her name public could have an undue detrimental effect on the investigation. He would not discuss any of the details of the collision, either, but said the driver is cooperating with authorities and is not in custody.