Skip to Content
Streetsblog Massachusetts home
Streetsblog Massachusetts home
Log In
Crashes

Driver Kills 50 Year-Old Woman In Brockton

Police cars block West Chestnut St. in Brockton after a driver struck and killed a 50 year-old woman walking on the street Wednesday morning.

Police cars block West Chestnut St. in Brockton after a driver struck and killed a 50 year-old woman walking on the street Wednesday morning. Photo courtesy of WBZ.

A driver who claims she was blinded by the morning sun, yet continued driving anyhow, struck and killed a woman walking along West Chestnut Street in Brockton early Wednesday morning.

Officials have identified the victim as Chafang Wu, a 50 year-old Brockton resident. Wu appears to have been walking along the southern side of West Chestnut Street, where there is no sidewalk, when the driver struck and killed her just before 7 a.m. at the intersection with Ash Street, near the city's Kennedy Elementary School.

Guy Pierre, a witness, told WBZ that the driver blamed the morning sun.

"She said (because of) the sun, she could not see when she hit that person," said Pierre.

In spite of the glare, the driver evidently continued to drive at a speed sufficient to kill Wu and break a roadside utility pole in two.

Police have so far not filed any charges against the driver, who remains unidentified.

Brockton, one of the most racially diverse cities in Massachusetts, also ranks among the commonwealth's most dangerous cities to be a pedestrian.

Drivers have killed 10 bicyclists or pedestrians in Brockton since 2019, and inflicted non-fatal injuries on another 193 victims in the same period.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Massachusetts

Roadblocked: Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Eliminates Most Federal Funding For Allston Highway Realignment

Without a formal project agreement in place, MassDOT will receive only $8 million out of a $335 million "reconnecting communities" grant that the Biden administration had pledged.

July 10, 2025

Another Bus Lane Bites the Dust: Wu Administration Forces Chelsea, Charlestown Transit Riders to Wait In More Traffic

The change comes just weeks before the MBTA rolls out a new bus lane enforcement system, which is expected to improve bus service considerably – at least on the dwindling number of streets where dedicated bus lanes still exist.

July 8, 2025

Balanced For Now – But Beacon Hill Is Putting the T Back On the Edge of Another Fiscal Cliff

The state's final budget gives the T about $80 million less than it had planned to spend in the coming fiscal year to cover its payroll and other transit operating costs.

July 7, 2025

Ambulance Data Reveals That Boston Drivers Are 4 Times More Likely to Run Over Pedestrians From Black Neighborhoods

"Overall, residents of predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods are about four times more likely than residents of predominantly white neighborhoods to be struck as a pedestrian."

July 1, 2025
See all posts