AMHERST — A 20-year-old University of Massachusetts student was seriously injured after being struck by a hit-and-run vehicle while he was crossing Massachusetts Avenue in a crosswalk Monday night, according to the Northwestern district attorney’s office.
The student was taken by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment of his injuries. UMass police are calling on the public to help find the driver of the SUV, who drove away following the incident, which occurred at around 10:15 p.m.
Laurie Loisel, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said in a statement that the pedestrian was in a crosswalk near Sunset Avenue, having nearly reached the other side, when a white- or silver-colored SUV traveling east at high speed struck him with the front driver’s side of the vehicle. The vehicle then continued to head east on Massachusetts Avenue.
Police have issued a be-on-the-lookout appeal for the SUV, which may have front-end damage.
“We are not only appealing to the public for their help identifying the driver involved in this incident, but appealing to the driver as well,” Northwestern First Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne said Tuesday. “What happened last night is likely weighing on their conscience, and this is their opportunity to do the right thing by coming forward.”
The hit-and-run comes less than a month after pedestrian Elena Lucore, a 19-year-old freshman from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, was killed, also on Massachusetts Avenue, on Feb. 22. She was at the edge of the road at the time of the crash, and the driver, also a student, remained at the scene.
That crash, a few hundred feet east of Monday night’s accident, remains under investigation.
Construction on a new dormitory on the south side of Massachusetts Avenue has narrowed the eastern side of the four-lane road, and several orange road construction signs warn drivers about the work zone and the need to reduce speeds.
Anyone with any information about the SUV is asked to call UMass police at 545-2121 or 545-TIPS (8477).
