Shelly Keith, 40, who was about 80-percent blind in one eye and totally blind in the other, was struck around 6:28 p.m. Wednesday. The Bakersfield Police Department said officers responded to the crash involving a single vehicle driven by Carlos Cordero, 31, of Bakersfield, after Keith was hit at the intersection of White Lane and Gosford Road.
An unidentified person said Keith may have been walking to or from a local area gym.
Police said an investigation revealed that Cordero, driving a Ford Excursion, was making a right turn from northbound Gosford Road onto eastbound White Lane, when he struck Keith. She had been walking eastbound in the crosswalk on the south side of the intersection.
Keith was transported by ambulance to Mercy Southwest Hospital where she later died.
"I'm very sad. I can't believe that she's gone," said Nicole Biggs, of Bakersfield, who knew Keith. Biggs said Keith walked a lot and took the city bus because she was mostly blind. Buying flowers, Biggs said she would place them at the corner of Gosford and White Lane in memory of Keith.
Biggs added that she remembered Keith buying a green tea frappuccino every day and said she would put one of those on the corner too in coming days.
"The family is very upset," said Biggs. "Her brother is distraught. He's just trying to keep it together until all the arrangements are made."
Wondering if the driver turned right on a red light and if that contributed to her death, Biggs said she wanted to bring attention to Keith's death. "People need to know to slow down a little bit," she said. "I know that she [Keith] touched a lot of people at the gym here."
Police said Cordero was contacted by officers at the scene. There was no indication that Cordero’s driving was impaired by drugs or alcohol.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
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