Great-grandmother spent her final moments saving beloved dog that was run over by car – before she was fatally hit by another vehicle

DAILYMAIL.COM • 59m ago

By SOPHIA BAUM 17:06 11 Oct 2026, updated 17:06 11 Oct 2026

An 86-year-old great-grandmother was killed in a heartbreaking double tragedy after rushing to tend to her beloved dog, which had just been struck by another vehicle.

Mary Lu ‘Meeka’ Wear was caring for her injured pet, Benji, in Apple Valley, California, when she was run over by a second car driven by a 70-year-old woman on October 9, authorities said.

The devoted dog owner suffered catastrophic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Now, her grief-stricken family have paid tribute to a woman they described as ‘the heart of the family’, whose warmth, kindness and love touched everyone fortunate enough to know her.

Wear was in the road on Waalew Road, west of Dale Evans Parkway, when the fatal second collision occurred shortly before 7.55pm, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

According to officials, the 70-year-old behind the wheel of the Nissan Murano remained at the scene and assisted authorities with their investigation.

Drugs and alcohol were not believed to have played a role in the crash, officials said.

Waalew Road was later closed for several hours between Corwin Road and Dale Evans Parkway while investigators examined the scene and investigated the circumstances surrounding the crash.

But while authorities work to establish the circumstances surrounding the fatal collision, Wear’s family are left to grapple with the loss of a beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother whose life was woven into the fabric of her community.

In a heartfelt GoFundMe appeal to ease financial constraints of funeral planning, her relatives described the matriarch as ‘a treasured friend to many’ and a woman whose warmth, kindness and love touched the lives of everyone fortunate enough to know her.

Her family said she had built lasting friendships and meaningful connections across Apple Valley, Big Bear and Fawnskin, California, where she was beloved by friends and loved ones.

Her sudden death, they said, had left an ‘unimaginable emptiness’ in the hearts of those who knew her.

Even at 86, Wear continued to embrace life with enthusiasm and a strong sense of purpose, remaining closely involved in the lives and ambitions of her family.

One of her most recent endeavors had been helping her daughter and granddaughter bring a special dream to life through the opening of the Buc N Doe Restaurant in Fawnskin.

Her relatives said her presence would forever be woven into its story.

For her seven children, four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, the loss of Wear leaves a void that cannot easily be filled.

The tragedy comes amid persistent concerns over pedestrian safety, with thousands of people killed in traffic collisions across the United States every year.

An estimated 18,460 lives were lost in motor vehicle crashes in the first six months of 2026, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Pedestrians accounted for 18 per cent of all traffic fatalities last year, meaning one person on foot was killed in a traffic crash, on average, every 72 minutes.

California recorded 37,810 pedestrian deaths in 2025, according to the state’s Office of Traffic Safety. Although that represented a decrease of 12 percent from 2024, the figure was still 56 percent higher than in 2014.

Federal figures also highlight the dangers of being on foot after dark. Some 77 per cent of pedestrian fatalities in 2023 occurred in darkness, compared with 19 percent in daylight.

Meanwhile, 84 per cent of pedestrian deaths occurred in urban areas, and 74 per cent happened at locations that were not intersections, according to NHTSA data.

The figures provide a sobering backdrop to the tragedy in Apple Valley, although authorities have not suggested that any of these broader risk factors caused the collision that claimed Wear’s life.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Wear’s family and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for comment.

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