Coroner identifies 82-year-old woman as pedestrian struck, killed by Merced police vehicle

The Merced County Coroner’s Office has identified a woman struck and killed by a Merced Police Department vehicle in Merced on Thursday as 82-year-old Josefa Blandon of Merced, according to Deputy Daryl Allen.

According to the Merced Police Department, an on-duty officer was driving a marked patrol vehicle in the 1400 block of G Street at 10:01 p.m. when the vehicle struck Blandon, who was walking in the roadway.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The California Highway Patrol is conducting an investigation into the collision while the Merced Police Department conducts an administrative investigation.

The officer involved in the collision has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigations, according to police.

The case one of two pedestrian deaths where a Merced police vehicle was involved.

On Sunday a pedestrian died after being struck by a motorist, as well as a Merced Police Department vehicle, on G Street just north of 18th Street.

The identity of that person has not been released, pending notification of family or next-of-kin.