Woman dies after being hit by truck in Walmart lot

A 50-year-old Saukville woman described as the heart of her family died after she was struck by a truck in the parking lot at Walmart just before 11 a.m. Sunday.

Police declined to name the victim, but she was identified online as Mailee Hang, a mother of four who was devoted to her family and worked in medical billing.

  Saukville police said the accident occurred about 10:51 a.m. Oct. 26 when a 74-year-old Fredonia woman tried to park her Ford Ranger pickup truck in a handicapped parking spot near the front of the Walmart store. The woman told officers she accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, propelling her truck through the walkway and into the next aisle of parking, where it struck the Saukville woman.

Others in the parking lot attempted to save the woman’s life, police said, as did first responders. She was transported to an area hospital, where she died.

Police said witnesses corroborated the Fredonia woman’s account of what happened, but the investigation is ongoing. No arrests have been made, police said, adding the Fredonia woman is cooperating with authorities.

Police Chief Robert Meyer said he hopes to have a final report on the accident next week.

“There were a lot of people around, a lot of good citizens who helped,” Meyer said. “I think it speaks to the type of community we have here in Saukville. 

“Nowadays, people are quick to get their phones out and take pictures. They don’t take time to help. We have some pretty amazing people who stepped in to help.”

Meyer said the accident was “very tragic.”  

“Something like this, you’re thankful this doesn’t happen often,” he said.

A GoFundMe page was set up for the Hang family with a goal of raising $22,000 to cover “funeral and memorial arrangements, legal and investigative costs and the challenges of adjusting to life without her.”

“She loved cooking, caring for her family and finding joy in simple moments, whether it was tending to her garden, laughing with loved ones or helping others in quiet, meaningful ways by saying her prayers. Her compassion, humor and warmth touched everyone she met,” her family wrote. 

In an online post, her sister Mai Xiong noted that Hang was born in Laos in 1975, one of three children raised during the Secret War and Vietnam War. Her family fled the country when Hang was a toddler, with her father swimming across the Mekong River with his wife and children to escape to Thailand in the middle of the night.

She moved to Detroit in 1994 after she married, her sister said.

“She lived her life fully, unapologetically, and with so much passion and enthusiasm,” Xiong said in her post.

In addition to Saukville police, the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office, Cedarburg and Mequon police departments and Ozaukee Central Fire Department responded to the accident.

To make a donation to the family, visit www.gofundme.com/f/justice-and-memorial-for-mailee-hang.