East Bend woman dies after being hit by vehicle

For the second time in less than four months, a major pedestrian encounter with a vehicle has been reported at Walmart in Mount Airy — with the latest incident involving a fatality.

Bonnie Smith Hennings, 86, of East Bend, died Monday, April 1 from injuries she had received the day before at the store which is a busy traffic venue, especially on weekends.

Officers with the Mount Airy Police Department responded to that location about 6:10 p.m. Sunday in reference to a motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian.

Hennings had been struck in an area in front of the grocery store entrance.

A marked pedestrian crossing area exists at that location.

The elderly woman was airlifted to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where she later died from her injuries, according to police.

The driver of the vehicle involved has not been identified, but police say that person wasn’t injured.

Meanwhile, the vehicle-pedestrian collision was still under investigation at last report, with further details unavailable from city police as of Monday, April 9.

Woman’s trial pending

A Mount Airy woman is awaiting an appearance in Surry Superior Court on 10 felony charges filed in connection with a Dec. 3, 2023 incident in the Walmart parking lot, where she is accused of striking four pedestrians with a vehicle and then fleeing the scene.

Vilma Elizabeth Huerta, 19, of 164 Oleander Lane, is charged with four counts each of attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, with intent to kill, along with two counts of felony hit and run involving injury.

Huerta was driving a 2012 Audi in a southerly direction in the Walmart parking lot which first veered to the left and “directly” struck two pedestrians before returning to the proper side of the lane.

But she then drove into two more pedestrians in the same manner, according to previous reports.

At least one of the victims was seriously injured after being hit and run over by the car and was transported to the Winston-Salem hospital.

Despite her leaving the scene, an investigation determined Huerta was operating the vehicle and she was arrested and jailed without privilege of bond.

Huerta is scheduled to appear in Superior Court on July 15.