Elderly woman killed in Lynn accident

LYNN – An elderly woman walking across Lynnfield Street to a bingo game at the Knights of Columbus was killed when she was struck by a teenage driver Thursday night, police and witnesses said.The fatal accident was one of three major weather-related crashes that occurred within an hour of each other on the North Shore.Police said the woman who was pronounced dead at Union Hospital was 76 years old. Her name has not been released pending notification of her family. The driver was only identified as a 19-year-old male.Police at the scene said the driver would not be charged and the death appears to be the result of an accident.The teenager was driving a black Pontiac Grand Am around a curve directly in front of Knights of Columbus at 177 Lynnfield St. headed toward Wyoma Square when he hit the woman.The woman was struck just beyond a parked car, indicating she might have emerged from behind the car when she was hit.A spider web of glass over the steering wheel marked the spot where the victim struck the windshield.Lynnfield Street was closed when the accident occurred at about 6:25 p.m. and remained closed for the majority of Thursday night.The stonewall of St. Mary’s Cemetery, directly across the road from Knights of Columbus, is marked with patched-up cement from previous accidents in which cars struck the wall.Holly Avenue resident Fred Russell said between eight and 10 accidents have occurred in front of the K of C this year.”There are no street lights at this wall, so it’s blinding when you hit this spot,” Russell said.The accident scene is not far from 672 Lynnfield St., where 60-year-old William Laurino was killed Oct. 30 when a car went off the road and struck him while he was raking leaves in his front yard.”Every day you see an accident,” Russell said.In Saugus, two major accidents kept police and fire crews busy around the same time as the Lynn crash.State Police said Christopher Colby, 35, of Beverly, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital after he collided with another car on Route 1 southbound then struck a utility pole at the Walnut Street exit.The other driver, Laura Dolimpio, 44, of 21 Wolcott Road, Revere, was not seriously injured.About 40 minutes later, State Police and the Saugus Fire Department responded to a rollover accident on the Lynn Fells Parkway onramp to Route 1 northbound.Emergency crews had to cut Christie Edwards, 24, of Beverly Hills, Calif., out of the car. Edwards was transported to MGH with non life-threatening injuries. The driver was identified as Jouse Torres, 32, of Beverly Hills, Calif.