It happened around 7:30 p.m. on Cedar Creek Road near Bureau Drive.
» Click here for a Google map of the area. «
Police said 74-year-old Ralph Chiodo and 72-year-old Carol Chiodo of Lansdale, Pennsylvania had just left the Ruby Tuesday restaurant on Cedar Creek Road and were attempting to cross the four-lane street to return to the Fairfield Inn they were staying at when they were struck by a 2012 Kia Sorento.
"I heard a loud thud, looked up, and the guy was pretty much 10-15 feet up the street," said a driver, who was just pulling onto the road. "The wife was lying on the road. Her leg was severed. It was pretty gruesome, and she was screaming for her husband. She was real worried about him."
Carol Chiodo was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center with serious injuries. Her husband was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the SUV, 66-year-old Robert Hardee, was not injured. The accident is still under investigation. No charges have been filed.
Meanwhile, several people who work in the area told ABC11 that this is the third or fourth time in the past several months that people have been hit trying to cross the street.
The city called it one of its deadliest pedestrian crossings, and installed a crosswalk last May to get travelers from hotels to restaurants. Authorities said the couple was not walking in the marked crosswalk when the accident happened.
The speed limit on Cedar Creek Road drops from 55 to 35 right before the area where the Chiodos were hit, and workers say the area is poorly lit.
"When someone really gets seriously hurt like that, you really want someone to kind of take up a notice. This is not a one time thing. This is something that's been happening. Seems like it's going to keep happening 'til someone takes note to light this a little better or get us a better crosswalk. There are plenty of hotels around here, people are trying to come from, or either the local store right here or the restaurants. It's just kind of a dangerous area," offered restaurant manager Stephen Perry.
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