SUV hits, kills Cary woman putting out trash

A Cary woman putting out her trash Monday morning was killed when she was hit by a passing SUV.

Sandra Verastegui, 52, was hit on Castalia Drive, off NW Maynard Road between High House and Old Apex roads, shortly before 9:30 a.m., police said.

A Ford Escape driven by Jax Aiden Fuller, 16, ran off the right side of the road, hit a mailbox and crossed a driveway before hitting Verastegui, whose Facebook page identifies her as Sandra Castillo-Olvera, according to an application for a warrant to obtain electronic data from the vehicle.

Police said the crash remains under investigation, and it's unclear if Fuller will face charges.

Neighbors said it was only a matter of time before someone was killed along the winding street, saying they've asked Cary officials to put in speed bumps to slow drivers that sometimes use Castalia Drive as a shortcut between High House Road and NW Maynard Road.

"I have almost been hit a number of times just getting the mail out the mailbox," resident Mary Lee Bigger said.

"Everybody said as soon as they heard it, honestly they weren’t surprised," Bigger said. "Isn’t that awful? But that was the first comment that we heard so many neighbors say."

The speed limit along the street is 25 mph, but Bigger said drivers "just fly down" a hill near where Verastegui was killed.

"We’d love to see speed bumps on Castalia, absolutely, and a lighted crosswalk – a caution light crosswalk here for the greenway," Nathan Bigger said.

The Black Creek Greenway crosses Castalia Drive about four blocks from where Verastegui was hit.

"I hope that, in her memory, something good can come out of this because I’m so afraid some child is going to go too far out of the greenway on their bike," Mary Bigger said.