Woman and her dog fatally struck by vehicle near Smithfield

SMITHFIELD, Va. (WAVY) — A woman and her dog were killed following a vehicle crash Thursday morning on VA-10 in the vicinity of Riddick Road near Smithfield.

Police said that at 7:10 a.m., a pedestrian walking her dog was struck by a 2002 Toyota Four Runner. The victim, 35-year-old Amber Gibson, and her dog died at the scene.

Police said that Gibson stepped into the roadway when she was struck. The road does not have a sidewalk, and Gibson was not wearing reflective clothing. The driver of the SUV stopped, and police said it is not a hit-and-run investigation.

The driver was not injured, and neither speed nor alcohol were factors in the crash, police said.

Nearby residents told 10 On Your Side this is an unfortunate case of Déjà vu, citing another accident that happened in the area a couple of months ago.

In November 14-year-old Daniel Warren was struck by a hit and run driver as he was walking his bike along the side of the road.

His grandma Alice Carpenter spoke with 10 On Your Side over the phone.

She said what she thinks needs to happen to make the area safer.

“I think between some kind of sidewalks and maybe even lowering the speed limit at least down to 50, if not 45,” Carpenter said. “And just that, you know that mile or so radius of two miles where there’s houses and there’s dogs, there’s kids, there you know, people.”

She said because of the lack of sidewalks in the area, her daughter has been trying to make it safer for her other son to board the bus to school.

“There’s cars that just zoom right by the bus while he’s getting on or off the bus and she [her daughter] wanted one of those school bus signs, school bus stop signs,” she said. “She’s called the state, she’s called the school board and, like I said, the school board just constantly gives her the runaround.”

The investigation is ongoing, and no charges have been filed at this time.