Needham man struck, killed by vehicle on Route 24

By Colin A. Young, Globe Correspondent

A Needham man was struck by a vehicle and killed on Route 24 in Randolph early Sunday morning, according to State Police.

Adam T. Trudeau, 29, was on foot around 1:15 a.m. when he was struck by another vehicle on the northbound side of the road, State Police said. Trudeau may have been standing in the middle lane of the road, facing oncoming traffic when he was struck, the Norfolk district attorney’s office said in a statement.

The car that hit Trudeau, believed to be a red Hyundai driven by a man, initially stopped but left the scene before the driver spoke to police, State Police said.

The roadway was closed for four hours while reconstruction teams investigated the incident, State Police said.

On Friday, State Police began additional patrols along much of Route 24 from Brockton south to the Rhode Island border as law enforcement officials attempt to counter a spike in traffic fatalities and injuries.

State Police spokesman David Procopio said the incident Sunday morning occurred on a stretch of Route 24 not covered by the increased patrols.

“We are investigating why the victim in the overnight crash exited his car and stepped onto the highway in front of oncoming traffic,” he said. “Regardless of his motive, it is hard to prevent a crash when someone does that, especially at night.”

The extra patrols, which will run from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, come in response to a number of recent crashes. Before this weekend, six people had been killed in fatal crashes on Route 24 so far this year — compared to the five traffic fatalities on the highway in all of 2011, Procopio told the Globe last week.