Driver distraction probed

Police are investigating whether a 21-year-old driver was distracted by a cellphone or car stereo moments before the vehicle he was in hit a 93-year-old woman crossing a road on her daily walk in Hastings.

Widow Phyllis Penman died in Hawkes Bay Hospital on Thursday night, six hours after the Omahu Rd accident.

Police serious crash investigator Senior Constable Chris Pye said the driver was not speeding and alcohol was not a factor.

He conceded driver distraction was a possibility.

Mrs Penman's funeral will be held in St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Hastings, tomorrow.