A 70-year-old man walking along the shoulder of a busy road near his home in North St. Paul stepped into traffic and was fatally run over shortly after sunset on Monday, authorities said Wednesday.

John F. Meyer was struck by the vehicle shortly after 7 p.m. on 7th Avenue near Oak Hill Place, according to police. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he died.

The driver, who stopped, was not suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, police said.

Meyer was heading west from downtown on the marked shoulder of westbound 7th, "turned into" traffic and was hit, said police Capt. Dustin Nikituk.

Meyer's home on South Avenue is a block farther west and on the other side of 7th from where he was walking.

Nikituk said it is legal for pedestrians to use that shoulder, adding "there is nowhere else there to walk" along that stretch of 7th.