Woman dies after car hits her near Sonora

Police are investigating an accident that left a pedestrian dead after a car hit her as she left the Sonora Celtic Faire.

According to authorities, the incident occurred on Highway 49 near Forest Road Saturday. Police were called to the scene at 8:08 p.m. on a report that a vehicle hit a pedestrian.

Joseph McFadden, 71, of Atwater was driving west on the highway, which is Stockton Road in that area, in a 2011 Lincoln Town Car. The car hit a 61-year-old woman who had been walking along the north edge of the road after leaving the Celtic Faire, police said in a news release.

“The force of the impact knocked the female pedestrian over the vehicle and onto the pavement,” authorities said in the release. “The pedestrian suffered major head trauma and was airlifted to Modesto.”

The pedestrian, identified as Kathy Warner of Stockton, later died from her injuries.

This story was originally published March 9, 2015 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Woman dies after car hits her near Sonora."