Police: Driver with 0.35 blood-alcohol level involved in fatal pedestrian crash at 16th and Irving

Police Chief Stacy Kelly told the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee that a pedestrian died on the morning of July 1 after being struck by a gray Dodge van at the intersection of 16th and Irving.

"On, July 1 at 09:18, we received a report of a crash involving a pedestrian in a gray Dodge van," Kelly said, and later summarized that "evidence collected so far leads us to believe that he was going a minimum of 35 to 45 miles an hour when he went through that intersection." Chief Kelly identified the deceased as Patricia Harrison and said the driver was later found and taken into custody.

Kelly described the subsequent investigative steps: the major crimes detectives were called in, the state police are performing a reconstruction and downloading vehicle data, and a search warrant was executed. She said officers located the vehicle and the operator, later identified as Michael Smith, who was unconscious behind the wheel and had multiple firearms in the vehicle; deputies took him into custody after he revived.

Chief Kelly also provided blood-alcohol test results: an early hospital draw returned 0.35. "This was a horrible incident, and there's only one thing that could have prevented this, and that was him choosing not to get behind the wheel that day," Kelly said. She added that a drug screen was still pending and that the reconstruction and several technical steps remain ongoing.

The chief emphasized that while some site changes can improve safety, investigators’ current evidence and witness statements indicate extreme speed and impairment were primary factors. The investigation is continuing; the chief said she would share further details as they become available.