Driver Held in Death of Woman Crossing Street

A74-year-old woman died Monday after she was struck by a car while walking across a Panorama City street, Los Angeles police said.

Irma Martinez of Gardena died at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills several hours after the 3 p.m. accident, Officer Timothy Sands said.

The driver, 34-year-old Edwin John Preimesberger of Lancaster, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and was being held at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Jail, Sands said. Police said a breath test showed that the man was legally drunk when the accident occurred.

The woman was walking in a crosswalk on Van Nuys Boulevard at Chase Street when she was struck by the car, which had run a red light, police said. The car was traveling about 35 m.p.h., Sands said.