Crime

Video: Driver strikes Randolph police cruiser and then flees

The suspect will be summonsed to Quincy District Court on charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

July 31, 2023

1 minute to read

A Mattapan man allegedly struck a police cruiser in Randolph and then fled the scene Saturday night.

Around 8 p.m., a Randolph police officer responded to North Main Street to help a driver whose van had run out of fuel in the middle lane of traffic, a release from the department noted.

While the officer was helping the driver, a Jeep traveling in the opposite lane, headed northbound, crossed over the double yellow line and hit the police cruiser, which was parked in the middle lane with its lights on, a video released by the department shows.

The driver of the Jeep continued on without stopping, according to police.

Another Randolph officer arrived on scene and tried to stop the driver, but decided to help at the scene, rather than pursue the suspect further, police said.

Officers later used photos to identify the Jeep’s license plate number. Police said they found the vehicle, unoccupied, near the registered owner’s residence in the area of Wellington Hill Street. The vehicle had damage consistent with the crash and so it was taken to the Randolph Police Department and impounded, authorities said.

The vehicle’s registered owner and alleged driver in the hit-and-run, who police identified as a 29-year-old Mattapan man, turned himself in Sunday morning.

The suspect will be summonsed to Quincy District Court on charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, and negligent operation of a motor vehicle, police said.

The first Randolph police officer, who was inside the cruiser when it was struck, did not report any injuries at the scene.

Watch cruiser camera footage from the scene below:

Cruiser Camera Footage: Car Strikes Randolph Police Cruiser 7/29/2023 from John Guilfoil Public Relations on Vimeo.

Heather Alterisio

Senior Content Producer

Heather Alterisio, a senior content producer, joined Boston.com in 2022 after working for more than five years as a general assignment reporter at newspapers in Massachusetts.