Sgt. Benjamin Granda, of the St. Louis County Police Department, said officers responded to a call of a person struck by a vehicle outside the Affton White-Rodgers Community Center in Affton, Missouri, just outside St. Louis, shortly after 6 a.m.
The woman, aged around 85, is thought to have been walking across Mackenzie Road to get to the community center, which is serving as a polling place, when she was struck, Granda told Newsweek.
Upon arrival, officers found the woman and attempted to save her life, but she later died in hospital. Her name was not released.
“Officers performed life-saving treatment on the woman, who was transported to a local hospital, but pronounced deceased shortly after,” Granda said.
A preliminary investigation revealed the woman “was walking westbound across the roadway” when she “was struck by a Honda Accord that was traveling southbound,” Granda added.
The 26-year-old driver of the Honda Accord remained on the scene after the collision, police said. She was visibly shaken as she spoke with officers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The St. Louis County Police Department’s Bureau of Crimes Against Persons, Crime Scene Unit, and Accident Reconstruction Unit were sent to the scene investigate.
Traffic will be restricted in the 9800 block of Mackenzie Road as the investigation is conducted, police added.
A long line of voters waiting to cast their ballots watched as police officers interviewed the driver and processed the scene for evidence, according to the newspaper.