Police Close Hit-And-Run Investigation With No Arrest

By Andrew Gorosko

Having exhausted the leads in their investigation into a hit-and-run accident that seriously injured an 8-year-old local boy last October, police have closed the investigation without finding a suspect.

Police, however, would reopen the case if new information were to become available, Police Chief Michael Kehoe said this week.

At dusk last October 17, as the boy was crossing Queen Street, just north of its intersection with Borough Lane, he was struck by a southbound vehicle that momentarily stopped after the impact, but then drove away from the scene. The boy is recovering from his injuries.

In January, the boy’s parents, Terence Trow, MD, and Catherine Trow of 10 Pinnacle Drive in Dodgingtown, attended a Police Commission meeting to urge that the town soon install speed bumps along Queen Street to hold down travel speeds there.

In March, the parents attended a Board of Selectmen’s meeting and queried the selectmen on traffic studies that that have been performed on Queen Street, seeking to learn when steps would be taken to hold down travel speeds there.

Chief Kehoe said this week, “It was a tragic accident.”

Based on the many traffic complaints that police have received from residents, police are now pursuing expanded traffic enforcement, he said. That project, which started in late February, is keyed to enforcing traffic laws concerning speeding, aggressive driving, and distracted driving.

Police can enforce the traffic laws but cannot assure the public that such vehicle/pedestrian accidents such as the one that occurred on Queen Street in October will not occur again, Chief Kehoe said.

“We can never make guarantees that it will never happen again,” he said.

Police closed their case on the hit-and-run accident on March 13, the police chief said. Police had reached a point where their investigatory leads were exhausted, he said.

“The investigation was thorough and exhaustive,” he said, adding that forensic evidence was analyzed in the case. Based on evidence found at the scene, it appears that the motorist who struck the boy was driving a Volkswagen.

The crime that occurred is known as “evading responsibility,” Chief Kehoe said. The felony involved serious physical injury and the driver did not stop to provide assistance to the victim, he added.

The crime carries penalties including a maximum fine of $10,000 and/or one year to ten years imprisonment, he said. “It’s a very serious charge,” Chief Kehoe said.

The heavily traveled Queen Street has been the scene of other vehicle/pedestrian accidents in the past.

Several years ago, the northern section of Queen Street was the subject of a pedestrian safety study. Last year, the Queen Street Area Traffic Improvement Plan was issued. Both studies provided a range of safety recommendations for the heavily traveled road.

The Police Commission, which is the local traffic authority, has recommended a proposed traffic-calming ordinance to the Legislative Council intended to reduce travel speeds, enhance pedestrian safety, and reduce traffic diversions in residential areas.

Dr Trow said April 3, “It’s unfortunate that [the police] were unable to find the individual who did this to our son…I hope that they would keep looking.”

Dr Trow said he wants the town to install speed-calming devices on Queen Street to hold down traffic speeds there as a way to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Pedestrian crosswalks, stop signs, and broad speed bumps, which are known as speed tables, would be appropriate speed-calming devices, he said. Such measures should be taken immediately, he said.

Dr Trow said he has collected 140 signatures on petitions from people who support speed-calming measures on Queen Street, adding that he will be collecting more signatures.

The town has been slow in responding to the need for Queen Street speed-calming measures, he said.

Dr Trow said that his stepson, who is the son of his wife, is recovering from the accident. “He’s improved greatly,” Dr Trow said, adding that the boy is “almost back to 100 percent.”

The Head O’ Meadow School student received injuries including a broken right knee cap and a broken left ankle in the collision, according to the police report on the case.

Police ask anyone who has information on the identity of the driver who struck the boy to contact them at 426-5841 or at 270-8888.