An unidentified driver abandoned his car after crashing into a utility pole and a fence on the corner of Boston Ave. and Winthrop St. last Thursday. The driver fled when police arrived, abandoning his red Subaru SUV on Professor's Row near Packard Ave.
While there was only moderate damage to the pole and fence, the SUV's front was destroyed by the impact. A light pole located next to the fence was also damaged.
Witnesses said that the offender, identified as male, was driving recklessly in the moments before the accident. "I was driving some friends home when I saw the guy flying up Winthrop St., and really hugging the curve. He was hitting garbage cans, so I figured it was just somebody out having a good time," Junior Perry Mcconnell said.
Mcconnell grew more concerned when he saw the speeding SUV later that night.
"The guy tried to make a right from Boston Ave. to Winthrop St., and just didn't make it," he said. After hitting the corner fence, which surrounds Sacred Heat church, the driver then backed out, and continued up Winthrop St. According to Mcconnell, the car's right front tire was completely deflated, and the entire front end of the Subaru was visibly damaged. Another witness, senior James Winkler, said the driver left various debris, including the bumper, at the scene of the accident.
Mcconnell called 911 to report the accident, and Medford Police officers commenced a search for the dented vehicle.
At 1:23 a.m., a TUPD cruiser noticed a badly damaged vehicle driving on three tires. TUPD Patrol Officer Cheri Burton pursued the car, and had the TUPD dispatch center contact the Medford and Somerville Police Departments. After Burton described the vehicle to his fellow officers, TUPD suspected that the car in question was the same one that fled the Boston Ave. accident.
After being pulled over, the driver abandoned the vehicle and ran from Burton. The officer followed on foot, but was unable to apprehend the suspect. Medford officers arrived moments later, but the driver was already out of sight. The abandoned vehicle was impounded, and the New York license plates are being traced to determine the car's owner.
If no one is convicted for leaving the scene of the accident, the owner's insurance company will be liable for the property damage, at which point the insurance company would likely conduct its own investigation, and determine whether or not to continue insuring the owner.
Investigators must be able to prove that the owner of the vehicle was, in fact operating the car at the time of the accident in order to convict him, according to TUPD Sergeant Doug Mazzola. If convicted, the driver would face at minimum a charge of leaving the scene of an accident, an offense punishable by up to two years of jail time.
