Elderly Man Killed Crossing the Street in Parma

He was just crossing the street when all of a sudden life was over in an instant. 

72-year-old Lawrence Handel was trying to cross U.S. 95 near 9th Street when he was hit by 22-year-old Gustavo Neri of Caldwell.

Handel is from Hermiston, Oregon and he died at the scene. According to KTVB the driver was wearing a seat belt and was not injured at all. It's unknown if the 22 year old was distracted or what caused the crash. We don't know if Handel walked in front of Neri suddenly, the details are just very sketchy at this point as the wreck remains under investigation.

The northbound lanes of U.S. 95 were blocked for over two hours.

We were very glad to hear that the 22-year-old man who hit the elderly man was wearing a seat belt. We've had far to many deaths in the Treasure Valley over the past year as a result of people not buckling up.

We're glad this didn't end up being a double tragedy. Please keep Lawrence Handel's family and friends in your prayers.