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Driver, 86, Has License Revoked After Crash

Pedestrian Struck In Melrose Sunday

POSTED: 2:36 pm EDT June 29, 2009
UPDATED: 11:26 am EDT July 16, 2009

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The state revoked the driver's license Monday of an elderly woman who allegedly struck a pedestrian with her car in Melrose.

Virginia Nelson, 86, of Malden, said a man stepped into the street from between two parked cars and was not in a crosswalk when she hit him about 10:30 a.m. Sunday in Melrose.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles revoked her license, but she has not been cited by police.

The victim, Francis Blomerth, 84, of Medford, was reported in critical condition Monday.

There have been five serious crashes involving elderly drivers in Massachusetts in recent weeks. Some insurance companies are now reconsidering the discount offered to senior drivers in the wake of the crashes.

The insurance industry is considering whether older drivers should continue to get a 25 percent discount on their premiums, the Boston Herald reported.

The Automobile Insurers Bureau of Massachusetts has launched a study on seniors behind the wheel. The study showed that drivers under the age of 75 are safer, and drivers over 75 are involved in more crashes than the average adult and seniors are more likely to file claims for property damage than bodily injury.

A look at Registry of Motor Vehicles data from 2006 to 2008 showed that 65 people died in car wrecks involving people over 80, with 22 of those fatalities occurring last year.

There is already a push on Beacon Hill to have drivers over the age of 85 to pass a road and eye test. A hearing on that proposal is set for Tuesday.


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