Pedestrian dies after falling in front of car

A 70-year-old man was killed Friday at a busy intersection in Campbell after falling backward off of a median into the path of a car, prompting police to close part of a major street, authorities said.

The Santa Clara County Fire Department’s medical personnel were sent at 1:42 p.m. to the intersection of West Hamilton Avenue and Winchester Boulevard to treat the man, Battalion Chief Brad Darbro said.

The man had just finished having lunch with his wife at a Burger King restaurant at the intersection’s northwest corner was crossing Hamilton heading south to reach the Chase Bank on the other side, Darbro said.

He walked about 30 feet outside of the crosswalk onto the median in the middle of Hamilton, stopped and for some reason fell backwards into the path of an oncoming vehicle heading west, Darbro said.

Campbell police Capt. Gary Berg said that police arrived at the scene and witnesses told officers the man appeared to fall before being struck by the vehicle.

The man died at the scene and the county medical examiner’s office is coordinating the investigation into the cause of death, Berg said. The victim’s wife was there when the accident happened but was not in the roadway, according to the captain.

The driver of the vehicle cooperated fully with police, there was no evidence of drug or alcohol use and no citation was issued, Berg said.

Police shut down the westbound side of West Hamilton while officers processed the scene of the man’s death, according to Berg.