Modesto woman killed after she's hit by pickup

A 31-year-old Modesto woman was killed Thursday night after she apparently walked into the path of a pickup truck in Turlock, authorities said.

April J. Chaves was struck by the truck traveling north on South Central Avenue just south of West Bradbury Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP reported that Jose Garcia, 51, of Ceres was driving a 1994 Ford F-150 at about 40 to 50 mph at 8:50 p.m. As he approached the 6000 block of South Central, there was a car parked on the west side of the road facing south with its lights on.

At some point as Garcia passed the stopped car, Chaves crossed the street from the west and was hit.

Garcia apparently didn’t realize he hit Chaves and continued north. A witness tracked down Garcia shortly after, and Garcia returned to the accident scene.

Emergency crews arrived at 9:03 p.m., and Chaves was pronounced dead at 9:27 p.m.

Garcia, who had two passengers in his truck, was determined not to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the CHP said.

It was the third time in less than a month that a pedestrian in Stanislaus County had died after being struck by a vehicle.

On July 22, a jogger was killed by a hit-and-run motorist near Riverbank. About two weeks before, a Modesto man was killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking on East Hatch Road in Ceres.