By Maria Rocha-Buschel
Police arrested 32-year-old James Wilmarth last Tuesday in connection with the death of a Chelsea resident after a vehicle collision earlier this month. Police charged Wilmarth with failure to yield to a pedestrian or bicyclist, an administrative charge, and failure to use due care on August 20 at 9:41 p.m.
Melissa McClure, 67, was killed less than a block from her apartment on West 15th Street at the corner of Sixth Avenue when Wilmarth allegedly hit her with his pick-up truck on Saturday, August 10 around 9 p.m.
Police said that Wilmarth was driving north on Sixth Avenue and was attempting to make a left turn onto West 15th Street heading west. Two women, who Gothamist later identified as McClure and her younger sister, Dorry Chitwood, were attempting to cross the street with the white pedestrian walk signal.
As Wilmarth was making the turn, the front of his vehicle allegedly hit both pedestrians, knocking them to the ground. Police responded to a 911 call about the collision at 9:07 p.m. When officers arrived, they found two women in the roadway with head trauma.