A woman, 76, of Attard died when she was hit by a car while walking on the pavement in her hometown last night.

The fatality occurred in Victor Vassallo Street at about 8.30pm. The victim was with another woman, 70, when she was hit by a white Toyota Vitz driven by a 28-year-old man from Birkirkara, the police said.

The car was heading towards Rabat when the driver, for some reason, lost control of the vehicle, hit the elderly woman and then crashed against a wall, the police said. Part of the wall collapsed.

An ambulance and a paramedic team were on site shortly after the accident happened but the woman succumbed to her injuries.

The 70-year-old was not hurt but was in shock.

Duty Magistrate Doreen Clarke was informed.

Casualty Department consultant Jonathan Joslin noted on Monday that half of those who died in traffic accidents this year were pedestrians. As the number of road fatalities dropped, the percentage of pedestrians who died in such accidents was rising, he pointed out.

Before last night’s fatality, there had been 10 traffic victims this year, five of them pedestrians. In 2013, only two of the 18 road fatalities were pedestrians.