Hit-and-run kills nurse on her way to work
Several flee downtown crash on foot
A mother of two who was on her way to work at Parkview Hospital was killed in a hit-and-run crash downtown early Wednesday.
Kimberly A. Swickard, 40, of Warren, died at Parkview shortly after her Pontiac Grand Am was struck by another vehicle at Berry and Clay streets just before 3 a.m. Wednesday. She was on her way to her nursing job at the hospital when the crash occurred, said Michael Joyner, Fort Wayne Police Department spokesman.
Swickard was a dedicated nurse in the medical telemetry unit at the hospital for two years, said Judy Boerger, chief nursing officer for Parkview.
She would often bring her two young daughters - who have an interest in nursing that Swickard always encouraged - into the hospital to treat the staff with cupcakes, Boerger said.
“It's a tragic loss for our staff and certainly for the patients Kim would have been privileged to serve,” she said. “She was very involved in her nursing career. It was her life.”
According to a witness, Swickard was driving north on Clay Street when a vehicle westbound on Berry Street failed to stop at a flashing red traffic light and crashed into her car, Joyner said.
The impact sent both vehicles into a tree and the facade of the Artlink building at 437 E. Berry St. The witness then saw several occupants of the car that struck Swickard run from the scene, Joyner said.
The vehicle that caused the crash was rented from a local agency, and police are looking for the occupants, Joyner said.
Swickard, who was not wearing a seat belt, was taken to Parkview and died a short time later. According to the Allen County Coroner's Office, an autopsy performed Wednesday found she died from blunt force trauma to the head.
The crash remains under investigation by the Fort Wayne-Allen County Crash Team, the Allen County Prosecutor's Office and the Coroner's Office.
It is the second fatal hit-and-run crash being investigated this year.
Police are still looking for the vehicle that struck and killed 2-year-old Darshan Lott in the 4100 block of Winter Street on May 9 while he was crossing the street. Another hit-and-run crash near Rothman Road and Denise Drive on May 10 left 22-year-old James Herald in critical condition.
Anyone with information about the hit-and-run crashes is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 436-7867.
mhubartt@jg.net