Hit and Run Accident at Wilshire Blvd and 5th Street, Critically Injures a Woman, 82 after being struck in crosswalk

SANTA MONICA - An 82-year-old woman remained in critical condition Friday after she was struck by a turning vehicle Thursday evening in a marked crosswalk at 5th Street and Wilshire Boulevard, police said.

The collision happened about 5:47 p.m. Thursday. According to a preliminary Santa Monica Police Department account, the woman was walking southbound in the marked crosswalk on the east side of the intersection when a vehicle making a left turn from southbound 5th Street onto eastbound Wilshire Boulevard struck her.

Santa Monica Fire Department personnel took her to a hospital. Police said Friday morning that she was still in critical condition. There has been no public report that she has died.

SMPD Lt. Lewis Gilmour told Patch the driver remained at the scene and is cooperating. Police also said alcohol was not a factor.

An earlier Santa Monica Daily Press report, written while the intersection was still closed, described the incident as a possible hit-and-run and said witnesses reported a pedestrian struck and a vehicle leaving. That account has not been repeated in the later police-sourced report.

The city sent an SMAlert as officers began a traffic collision investigation at 5th and Wilshire.

Recent pedestrian crashes on Wilshire Boulevard

Wilshire has been the site of several serious pedestrian collisions in Santa Monica in recent years. Several involved older adults.

Dec. 22, 2024 - Wilshire Boulevard and Chelsea Avenue:** Judy Mershon, 85, a Vietnam War veteran and Santa Monica resident, was killed while crossing Wilshire southbound. Witnesses said a white Toyota RAV4 fled eastbound at high speed. Police later arrested Rod Sharif. The case was treated as a fatal hit-and-run.

Jan. 5, 2025 - 2400 block of Wilshire, just east of Chelsea:** A homeless man in his late 60s was struck near the same intersection. He was taken to a hospital with stable vital signs and was expected to survive. Police said the driver stayed at the scene and that drugs or alcohol did not appear to be a factor.

Oct. 24, 2025 - 1300 block of Wilshire, between 14th Street and Euclid Avenue:** A vehicle traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes drove onto the south sidewalk and struck four pedestrians. Brad Lipshy, 61, and Maura Cohen, 61, were pronounced dead at the scene. Two other people were injured and expected to survive. The driver fled on foot; police later arrested Alex Kristopher Earl Kirksey.

September 2023 - Wilshire and 14th Street:** A two-vehicle crash sent one car spinning into an elderly pedestrian, who was hospitalized and survived.

City data released in 2026 showed Santa Monica recorded 21 fatal crashes from 2021 through 2025, with pedestrians and bicyclists accounting for all but one. Fatal and severe-injury crashes involving pedestrians rose year over year during that period, and the city has been revising its Vision Zero approach after missing its 2026 elimination target.

Thursday's collision at 5th and Wilshire fits a recurring pattern on the corridor: older pedestrians struck at or near marked crossings. As of Friday evening, police had not released the victim's name or a final determination of fault.