Richmond woman, 60, killed crossing street in Kemptville

Ontario Provincial Police have identified a 60-year-old woman who was struck and killed by a pickup truck in Kemptville Monday morning.

Joan Arnold, of Richmond, was struck as she crossed the street from the new LCBO at 324 Colonnade Dr. just before noon. Police said Arnold was hit by a 70-year-old man driving his 1999 Ford truck south. Arnold was pronounced dead at the scene.

Residents say the new location of the LCBO opened only a few months ago, partly to allow for safer parking access.

“The place downtown (Kemptville) was a traffic hazard,” said Charles Lawrence of the old location. “It was on the main road.

“But this is a weird parking lot. There are so many turns. It doesn’t seem like you could go very fast.”

OPP had set up evidence markers just outside the entrance, showing where the woman was hit. About five metres from the door, a yellow paramedics sheet lay on the ground next to a discarded breathing mask. Nearby, a broken four-pack of wine coolers looked as though it had been thrown down. A pair of sunglasses, with the lenses smashed, was lying three metres away.

The green pickup truck was further down the lane, at the other end of the big box LCBO.

A sign on the door from LCBO staff said the store would be closed all day and directed citizens to other locations.

“That’s so sad,” said Merrickville resident Gillian Morden, who was stopping by the strip mall to do some shopping. “People shoot around these parking lots. Especially trucks,” she said.

Kemptville OPP officers and the technical traffic collision unit are investigating.