Woman struck, killed at Sts. Simon and Jude

Jenny Marder

A 90-year-old woman died last week after being struck by a car in the

parking lot of her Huntington Beach church.

Kathryn Wells was walking through the parking lot of Sts. Simon

and Jude Catholic Church after Sunday morning mass, when Katherine

Robinson, 84, hit her while backing out of a parking space.

Wells was struck at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 31, and died the

next Thursday evening.

“Her car was not moving very fast, but the injuries she sustained

were considerable,” Huntington Beach Police Lt. Janet Perez said.

Wells was conscious after the accident, and most of the injuries

were to her legs, said Wells’ brother, Robert Wells. Robinson backed

out of the parking space too quickly, he said.

“When you back out of a parking place, you have to inch out, and

she came out quite rapidly,” Robert Wells said. “It’s a big parking

lot, but there’s not much clearance between the two lines of cars.”

No charges have been filed against Robinson, a Huntington Beach

resident.

Robert Wells described his sister as a very independent woman and

a devout Catholic with a fondness for children and a passion for

travel.

Kathryn Wells was born in North Dakota and was one of seven

children -- five boys and two girls.

During World War II, she worked with the American Red Cross in

Europe, he said.

She also lived in Minneapolis, Minn. and New York City before

settling in Northern California, where she spent most of her life.

She received her master’s degree from UC Berkeley and worked as a

professional psychiatric social worker. She never married nor had

children of her own, but “had nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and

grand-nephews that she doted on,” her brother said.

Robert Wells, a Huntington Beach resident, moved his sister down

to Fountain Valley so that she’d be closer to him.

“I was the second youngest, 11 years younger than she,” he said.

“When I was a small child, she was extremely good and doting to me,

and I loved her very much.”

The Police Department is investigating the accident. Within a few

weeks, the case will be sent to the district attorney’s office, Perez

said. That office will choose whether to file charges against

Robinson.

Anyone with additional information should call Investigator Bob

Barr at (714) 536-5666.