DARTMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - A driver has been cited in connection with the death of a student on the campus of UMass Dartmouth earlier this year.
The Bristol County District Attorney’s office in previous statements said UMass Dartmouth campus police first responded to the scene on Ring Road on April 6 around 5:30 p.m. after receiving a report of a pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle.
Once scene, officials said, police found 19-year-old Frank Petillo Jr. lying in the roadway with serious injuries.
Petillo was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Officials said the driver of the car that struck Petillo stayed at the scene after the crash.
Writing on Thursday, a spokesperson for the DA’s office said the driver has now been cited for negligent motor vehicle homicide.
“The individual now has a right to a clerk magistrates hearing before an official criminal charge can be issued,” the spokesperson said.
While the crash remained under investigation, friends and community members in April remembered Petillo.
Among messages, the university’s Student Alumni Association posted on Instagram, saying, “You will be missed and we will keep loving you.”
Chancellor Mark Fuller said Petillo was a first-year bioengineering student. Fuller said the UMass Dartmouth community was feeling “a collective pain” after Petillo’s death and asked community members to keep Petillo’s family, friends and classmates in their thoughts and prayers.
“He will be sorely missed,” Fuller said.
Later speaking at a vigil to remember Petillo and Alexandra Landry — another UMass Dartmouth student who unexpectedly passed away in early April — Petillo’s sister, Lauren, said Petillo was one of the kindest people.
“Hearing the news of his passing crushed my heart alongside many others,” she said. “This is the worst thing that could have happened to me and my family. He didn’t deserve this, not a single bit.”
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