A 53-year-old man was struck and killed by a pickup truck near downtown Hemet, where he was crossing a street while possibly under the influence of alcohol, police said Wednesday.
Robert Orrell was hit in the 200 block of Lyon Avenue, just south of Florida Avenue, according to Hemet police Sgt. Dan Reinbolt, who said the local resident had crossed Lyon several times, apparently engaged in an intermittent conversation with another man on the east side of the street.
Shortly after 9 p.m., Orrell was walking across the middle of Lyon when a 2005 Dodge pickup approached from the north at roughly 25 mph, according to Brock. He said Orrell stepped into the roadway, clad in dark clothes, and was heading to the east side of the street when the pickup struck him.
The driver, whose identity was not released, immediately stopped and called 911. Officers questioned the man, who was not arrested.
Orrell was transported to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, where he succumbed to his injuries less than an hour later.
Investigators are awaiting autopsy results to determine whether the victim might have been intoxicated, Brock said, adding that the fatality had nothing to do with Halloween activities.
–City News Service