FLORENCE, Ky. — A woman is dead after a driver struck her with a car on Saturday, before crashing into the front of a local business in Florence, police said.
According to a press release sent out by the Florence Police Department, officers responded to reports of a vehicle collision at the 7000 block of Turfway Road at 5:01 p.m.
When crews arrived at the scene, they discovered a gray Toyota Camry lodged inside Yasmin Halal Market, which is next to Turfway Liquor.
According to police, someone driving the Camry accelerated forward, hitting 63-year-old Fatuma Ali, before coming to a stop inside the business.
Florence EMS arrived on scene and pronounced Ali dead from her injuries.
According to Florence police, the driver of the Toyota Camry remained on scene and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
Dozens of people, part of Northern Kentucky's Somali immigrant community, watched the tragic scene in its aftermath, embracing one another and wiping tears away.
"The reason we are all here is because we all come from the same place," Mahad Hassam, who described Ali as like family to him, said. "We all [are the] same community. We actually feel sympathy for each other."
WATCH: An immigrant community in Northern Kentucky mourns an unexpected loss
Hassam, along with another community member close to Ali, Mahmoud Dhudhi, told news media on the scene that the 63-year-old worked at the market and was a pillar in the tight-knit immigrant community.
"We lost the most important person in the community," Dhudhi said. "Everybody here lost, you know, [a] very important person, either as a community [member], family or relative."
"I don't think any other woman can replace her," Hassam said. "Everybody knew her. She was a good, good person."
The two said they believe what happened was some sort of accident but the Florence Police Accident Reconstruction Team and the Florence Police Criminal Investigations Unit will continue to investigate the collision.
