SUNDERLAND — No charges have been filed against the 19-year-old driver who struck a pedestrian on Amherst Road (Route 116) on Tuesday morning, though the incident remains under investigation, according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
The incident occurred at 5:07 a.m. near the plaza that houses Frontier Pizza, prompting a response from the Sunderland Police and Fire departments alongside South County EMS. According to DA’s office spokesperson Melissa Sippel, when police located the driver later in the day, he reportedly told authorities “he thought he may have struck a deer.”
Emergency personnel assisted the 69-year-old pedestrian, who was suffering from “serious injuries.” He was transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment, according to the DA’s office.
While no charges have been filed against the driver as of Wednesday morning, Sippel stated that the incident remains under active investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, and the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services Section.
Although he could not comment further on a state investigation, Sunderland Police Chief Erik Demetropoulos, in an interview Tuesday, commended the teamwork and collaboration between state and local public safety services during this incident.
“It’s great to see small towns working together with State Police,” he remarked. “It was a great team effort.”