Woman, 66, Killed by Truck While Crossing Street

COSTA MESA — A 66-year-old Costa Mesa woman was hit by a truck and killed early Tuesday while crossing a street near her home.

Police said Shirley Lorraine Martin was crossing Placentia Avenue about 5 a.m. when she was struck. She was pronounced dead at College Hospital.

“The pedestrian hit the windshield of the truck as a result of the impact and was thrown about 30 feet,” Officer Steven Rautus said. “She hit the asphalt and rolled or slid 30 feet until she came to a rest.”

Rautus said the driver, Charles Leon Hook, 36, of Costa Mesa, was not arrested, but police will ask the Orange County district attorney’s office to file criminal charges against him of vehicular manslaughter and failure to yield to a pedestrian lawfully in a roadway.

The area was “extremely well lit,” Rautus said. He said Hook told police that “he just didn’t see her prior to the point of impact.”

A neighbor of Martin’s, Betty Jasper, described the victim as a “very sweet lady.”

“She was very well-liked by the people who lived around her,” Jasper said.

Police investigators have ruled out drugs, alcohol and speeding as possible causes of the accident.