PALM SPRINGS (AP) — An 87-year-old World War II veteran visiting Palm Springs for a reunion was hit by a car and killed.

The Riverside County coroner said Sunday that Robert Mathiasen of Goleta was hit by a Ford Taurus while crossing the street Friday and declared dead at a hospital.

Friend Mike Faley told the Desert Sun (http://mydesert.co/zhtQhl ) that Mathiasen’s 83-year-old wife Lorraine remained hospitalized in critical condition.

Mathiasen was in town to attend the 100th Bomb Group reunion at the Palm Springs Air Museum. He had served as a B-17 Flying Fortress ball turret gunner and completed 30 missions over Europe during the war.

The Desert Sun says the driver assisted police and did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The couple was not in a crosswalk.

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