CANTON, MASS. (WHDH) - The body of a man who was killed in a crash early Christmas morning in Canton was discovered about an hour later on a nearby lawn by a passing motorist, officials said.
Officers responding to the area of Pleasant Street and Meadows Avenue for a report of a crash found a heavily damaged vehicle with no one inside, according to the Canton Police Department.
Police initially thought the driver had fled the scene of the crash. They said he sideswiped a resident in Stoughton before slamming into a tree a short while later in Canton.
An immediate search of the area proved unsuccessful. The wrecked car was towed away and the downed tree was cleared from the road.
About an hour later, as the sun came up, police said a passing motorist called to report a person sleeping on a lawn near the crash scene.
Officers returned to the area and found a deceased man with visible signs of “major trauma.”
“None of the responding officers or anyone else, including several neighbors, the tow truck driver or the DPW workers saw him, as he was wearing dark clothing, lying motionless and it was pitch black out,” the department said in a statement. “Although we wish we located him earlier, we do not believe it would have changed the outcome at all.”
The victim’s name has not been released.
An investigation is ongoing.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)