Driver, 71, allegedly hits woman, child
Police said a woman and a 2-year-old child were struck by a vehicle driven by a 71-year-old man in Somerville yesterday, the latest in a spate of incidents involving older drivers and small children.
The 31-year-old woman who was hit had life-threatening injuries, police said.
About 3:30 p.m., police responded to a residence on Munroe Street, after the woman and child were struck as they stood at the edge of private property near a curb, said Paul Upton, deputy chief of the Somerville Police Department.
The driver, whose name was not released last night, was maneuvering a sport utility vehicle in or out of a parking spot, and drove onto the curb as he hit the pair, police said. The woman and child had been attending a party. The woman was not the child’s mother, and police could not say whether they are related.
Authorities said the woman was a Dedham resident and the child was from Roslindale. Both were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Police did not release the names of the victims or the driver. The driver’s SUV was impounded and is being examined by the Somerville Police Department’s crash reconstruction unit to determine whether the driver will be charged. Police said he has been cooperative.
The case marked the second time in two days that an older driver was allegedly involved in a serious accident. On Saturday, Herbert Whitaker, 7, died after being struck by a car police said was driven by a 76-year-old Plympton woman.
Last month, an 88-year-old Canton woman allegedly struck and killed a 4-year-old girl who was crossing a street with her family in Stoughton.
