Tragedy struck on Linden’s Main Street Thursday morning when a woman who was crossing the street was hit and killed by an oncoming vehicle.

Emily Armistead, 60, of Columbiana was crossing Main Street (Hwy. 43) at approximately 10:30 a.m. when she was hit, according to Linden Police Chief Robert Alston. She and her husband, Bill Armistead, had parked in a lot across the street at the intersection of Main and Center streets and were crossing the street to attend a funeral at the Linden Methodist Church.

Upon arriving on the scene, a Linden firefighter and EMT immediately began CPR and continued until an ambulance arrived, officials said. Armistead was then transported to Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced deceased.

Armistead’s husband, Bill Armistead, is a former chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, having served in that capacity from 2011 to 2015. He had run for the office of lieutenant governor in 2002, losing that race to Lucy Baxley.

The couple was in Linden to attend the funeral of Paul Owensby, former owner of Papa’s Grocery Store.

The driver of the vehicle involved was 17 years old, Alston said. The incident remains under investigation.