PHOENIX -- A British couple who spent so much time in Tombstone that they became well-known in the 1,800-person city have been hit and killed by a truck, upsetting the locals who knew them and reigniting frustrations over the area where the accident occurred.
Arthur and Winifred Wilkinson had just finished dinner and were crossing a state highway that runs through Tombstone's business district when they were hit Monday night, Tombstone Marshal Larry Talvy said Tuesday. They were hit in a 35 mph zone, and Talvy said the driver wasn't speeding.
While locals know the highway as a dangerous place to cross, Talvy said most everyone still does because it's practically unavoidable. He said other possible factors in the accident, such as alcohol, still are under investigation.
The driver who hit the Wilkinsons stopped after the accident and tried to save their lives, but 81-year-old Arthur died at the scene and his 75-year-old wife died shortly after at a nearby hospital. The Wilkinsons are from Preston, about 40 miles north of Liverpool.
Talvy said the couple married in Tombstone in 2002 and have come back every year since for three weeks at a time. He said just about everyone knew them.
"They were such a wonderful older couple," said Talvy, who had just spoken to the Wilkinsons over the weekend. "After years of them coming down and visiting, it's hard to forget them."
Talvy said the Wilkinsons were captivated by the Old West and visited Tombstone for its annual Helldorado Days, an event that marks the anniversary of the famed Gunfight at the O.K. Corral with staged shootouts.
"They'd dress up in 1800-period clothing, and they'd make friends with whoever they came in contact with," he said.
He said people around Tombstone are mourning the Wilkinsons' deaths and are especially frustrated that they were killed on State Route 80 in the middle of the city.
Talvy said Tombstone has no authority to build crosswalks or add lighting along the highway because it's state property, but has unsuccessfully requested such projects for at least nine years from the Arizona Department of Transportation.
"It's a long-standing problem. Not to say they're disconcerned, I'm not sure what criteria they use, but it's frustrating," he said. "The townspeople are aware of the dangers that lie within these intersections, and they are frustrated as well."
Department of Transportation spokeswoman Linda Ritter said her agency conducted two studies about whether to put a crosswalk across the highway at the city's request in 2001 and 2004. Both times the agency found that a crosswalk was not needed.
Ritter said the agency considered various factors, including how often pedestrians cross the highway, how long it takes them to cross it and the speed limit.
She said department officials told Tombstone officials that if conditions changed, they could write the agency a letter asking for another study. She said Tombstone hasn't done that since 2004.
"Safety is our No. 1 concern," Ritter said.
