Wichita woman, dog on nighttime walk die after being hit by car, sheriff’s office says

A 44-year-old Wichita woman and her dog were killed during a late-night walk Monday when they were hit by a teenage driver in rural southeast Wichita, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Benjamin Blick said Tuesday morning.

Melissa Mertes and her dog died at the scene. The 18-year-old Rose Hill woman driving a Chevrolet Impala was not injured.

The accident happened around 9:26 p.m. in the 12000 block of East 31st Street South, which is just south of Wichita Southeast High School. Mertes and her dog were headed west, “on the north edge of the roadway” and the teen driver was heading west as well, Blick said in a news release. That area does not have sidewalks.

“The circumstances of the collision are under investigation,” Blick said.

This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 9:23 AM.