By William A. Weathers
Enquirer staff writer

WESTWOOD - A woman crossing the street near her Glenway Avenue apartment was struck and killed Monday afternoon by a car that witnesses say was drag racing.

Witnesses said the impact sent the woman into the air as her husband watched from the other side of the street. The victim was in a crosswalk when she was hit, witnesses said.

Officer Denise Burns, right, and other members of the police force and emergency personnel surround the husband of a hit-and-run victim. (Enquirer photo/SARAH CONARD)

The driver of a dark-colored Honda was taken into custody by police shortly after the fatal crash. Witnesses told police the Honda fled the scene after the crash, which broke its windshield and headlights.

The crash occurred about 5:10 p.m. on Glenway Avenue at the intersection of Midway. The name of the victim and the driver, and any charges, were not available from police Monday night.

Edward Estes, 42, who lives nearby on Robinette Drive, said he heard the impact and when he reached Glenway he saw two cars stop. The drivers talked to each other briefly, then drove off.

It would be no surprise to him if the two drivers had been drag racing, Estes said. Drag racing occurs frequently on that flat, straight stretch of Glenway.

"It happens all day long,'' Estes said. "It's an everyday routine. It's not just once in a while. It's all the time."

Henry Baker, the 66-year-old resident manager of the apartment building where the woman lived, said he saw the crash from a window. He saw the woman struck by a speeding car while crossing Glenway Avenue from south to north.

Baker identified the couple as a husband and wife, but declined to give their names.

"Nobody could have gotten out the way'' Baker said. "It was a black Honda that hit her. It happened so fast.''

The impact sent the woman flying "at least 10 to 12 feet in the air,'' Baker said.

Baker and other witnesses said the Honda and a red car, which were eastbound on Glenway, appeared to be racing.

"I know they were side by side and came up there flying," Baker said. "It's a 35 mph zone and they were way over 35. They were doing 60 at least."

Baker said the victim and her husband, who he estimated to be in their 30s, had moved into the building about three weeks ago. They both worked at restaurants in the neighborhood, he said.