NORTH READING, MASS. (WHDH) - A week after a young girl was seriously injured in a hit-and-run, community members spoke about the incident in North Reading Tuesday.
Police said the 4-year-old was in a wagon being pulled by a parent on Lakeside Boulevard Wednesday morning, Oct. 19 when a driver struck the young girl. They said she was seriously injured, and taken to a hospital for treatment before later being released.
The parents of the young girl said it was not the first time this type of incident has happened in the area, but they said they hope it will be the last.
They put up a sign to drivers on Lakeside Boulevard, featuring a photo of the little girl in a neck brace, reading in part: “The driver left my daughter on the side of the road bleeding and helpless after speeding away,” and, “This could have been your child.”
“As the sign said, they left her bleeding on the street,” Arlene Garvey, a neighbor said. “That’s the worst thing you can do.”
Garvey said the situation still disturbs her, nearly a week later. She lives across from where police said the driver struck the girl.
“It was terrible to wake up that morning and open up my drapes and look out the window, and I see the police in the street,” Garvey said.
Jeff Green, who knows the family, said drivers need to slow down in that area.
“I’m not sure what the answer is, but honestly something should be done,” he said.
Garvey has lived on Lakeside for over 40 years, and said she has nearly been hit several times herself. She’s been told the street isn’t suitable for sidewalks or speed bumps, but this hit-an-run has renewed her efforts, and she wants local leaders to do something before someone gets killed.
“It could have been far worse,” Garvey said. “And I don’t want to live here looking at that, without doing something so it never happens again.”
As 7NEWS previously reported, the alleged driver, a 39-year-old Andover woman who reportedly left the scene, turned herself in after North Reading Police began an investigation and made contact. Police said the woman will be summoned to Woburn District Court on charges that include Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle and Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Personal Injury.
As of Tuesday night, the young girl is out of the hospital, and is going to be OK. The family said they are asking for privacy at this time and want to thank the community for all of its support.
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