16-year-old dies after being hit, dragged by car in Springfield
Springfield police are investigating a fatal pedestrian crash in which a 16-year-old boy was hit and then dragged more than 300 feet early Saturday morning.
Just after 2:30 a.m., police responded to a report of the crash at the corner of St. James Avenue and Montclair Street. At the scene, officers found an injured male pinned beneath a Nissan in the middle of the road. He was transported to Baystate Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, according to police.
An initial police investigation determined that the teen was lying in the street when a vehicle stopped to avoid hitting him. A second vehicle traveling down St. James Avenue saw the vehicle stopped in the middle of the road and went around it, hitting the male and dragging him, according to police.
The vehicle’s driver, a 41-year-old woman from Chicopee, stopped once she realized she had struck a pedestrian, police said. With the help of bystanders, she used a jack to raise her car and pulled the victim out from underneath. Police said she is not facing any charges related to the crash at this time.
Police are seeking information about the driver of the stopped vehicle, who allegedly left the scene. Officials don’t know why the 16-year-old was lying in the street, but believe he may have been part of an altercation with three other males between the ages of 16 and 20 who were seen fleeing the area at the time of the crash.
The teen was identified by his family Saturday afternoon when family members arrived at Baystate Medical Center searching for him, police said. His name is being withheld pending the notification of his entire family, and police expect to release his identity Monday morning.
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