Two Russian Friends' Final Walk

By Jorge Casuso

Mariya Diment and Liya Murkes liked to walk. Every evening, they strolled in Palisades Park looking out over the sea near the towering senior building they called home.

For Murkes, a Russian immigrant who looked younger than her 71 years, it was a way to stay fit and youthful. For Mariya Diment, 70, Murkes' Russian friend, it was a way to recover from a recent surgery.

Last Friday evening at 8:40, as they crossed Ocean Avenue arm in arm in an unmarked crosswalk at Washington Avenue, the two friends were struck and killed by a 1995 Mercedes. Police said the driver, Cheryl Chadwick, 45, of Los Angeles, was talking on her cell phone. After the collision, police said that Chadwick, who was going between 35 and 40 miles per hour, refused to exit the vehicle or cooperate in any way.

Chadwick was booked for interfering with an investigation and issued a citation to appear in court. "The matter is still under investigation," said Lt. Gary Gallinot, the police department's spokesman.

Diment died at the scene. Murkes was transported to UCLA-Westwood , where she died during surgery.

Over the weekend, residents of Westminister Towers, the 285-unit senior building at 1112 7th Street, mourned the loss of two friends who were often seen together conversing in their native Russian.

"They were both very well liked. They were lovely ladies," said Loretta Pelman, who manages Westminister Towers, the city's largest senior building. "They were just wonderful. They were close to their families, quiet ladies.

"They loved to walk," Pelman said. "They walked almost every evening together and sometimes in the day. Mrs. Diment had had surgery and was told to walk and it was always so safe around here.

"They didn't normally walk late in the evening and it was such a beautiful night," Pelman said. "We heard the sirens and we always say, 'Oh please, don't stop here.'"

Unlike Diment, who lived with her husband in the building and had medical problems, Murkes lived alone and was in perfect health.

"She was a very happy person," said Murkes' granddaughter Hanna Nurumend, who lives in Hollywood. "She never had a problem with her health. She was very young in her mind and her soul.

"She loved the ocean," Nurumend said. "She loved to walk around it. She loved Santa Monica. She went for a walk very often. She never went alone."