Pedestrian Hit By Car While Crossing Quimby and Elm

A Plainfield woman was injured Friday morning when she was hit by a car while crossing a downtown Westfield intersection.

Witnesses report that Mary Kolesnyk of Plainfield was hit by a Mercedes while crossing the crosswalk at the intersection of Quimby and Elm streets. Kolesnyk was treated by the Rescue Squad at the scene and transported by ambulance to an area hospital.

“It was one smooth motion,” said witness Stephen Murphy. “The driver of the car didn’t see her and didn’t hit brakes. There were two loud thuds--at contact and when she hit the ground.”

Kolesnyk was crossing Quimby Street, headed in the direction of North Avenue and the boarded up Ferraro’s, around 11:30 a.m. on Friday. The driver was making a right turn from Elm on to Quimby when the accident occurred. The police and Rescue Squad were on the scene in minutes.

Murphy, a Patch intern, said Kolesnyk, who appears to be in her mid-60s, was lying in the street fading in and out of consciousness when emergency personnel arrived. Murphy said Kolesnyk could not remember what year it was or where she was. He also said she was complaining about pain and appeared to need stitches on her knee.

Murphy said the driver of the car, whose name is not known, appeared to be in shock following the accident.

“She seemed like she was in shock. She said, ‘I feel sick to my stomach,’ and just leaned against the hood of the car. [There was] damage to the right side of the hood.”

The intersection of Elm and Quimby has been the site of a series of pedestrian accidents in recent years. In early April, a pedestrian was hit by a car at the intersection, and in 2010, a pedestrian was sent to the hospital when hit by a car while crossing Elm Street at the intersection.