MEDFORD, Mass. (WHDH) – A 17-year-old boy accused of hitting three people with a car in Medford Sunday, killing one and leaving two hospitalized, was under the influence of a drug at the time of the crash, authorities said.
The boy, whose name has not been released, was driving in the area of Spring and Emerald streets about 4:49 p.m. when he struck and killed Judith Moses, 64, of Brookline, according to a spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan’s Office.
A preliminary investigation indicates the boy kept driving down Spring Street and hit two more people and a dog before slamming into a Citizens Bank on Yeoman’s Avenue, officials said. Those two people — a 27-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman — were hospitalized with serious injuries. Their dog was killed.
A drug recognition expert who responded to the scene determined the driver was under the influence of a drug, police said.
He was driving with a learner’s permit and had not yet obtained a driver’s license.
The boy has been charged with operating under the influence causing serious bodily injury, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident causing death, operating to endanger and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. He is expected to be arraigned Monday in Cambridge Juvenile Court.
In a message on Twitter, Medford Mayor Stephanie M. Burke said, “My thoughts and prayers go out to all those involved in this tragic event.”
Medford Superintendent of Schools, Roy E. Belson, released the following statement to 7News: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this horrible tragedy. We will be working with law enforcement officials as they may require. Since this is a juvenile matter, we will have no further comment at this time.”
The cause of the crash is being investigated by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Medford police and members of the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.
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