15 Year Old Dracut Boy Hit by Truck at Mammoth Road and Lakeview Avenue
A 15-year-old Dracut boy suffered serious head injuries when he was struck by a Dodge Ram pickup truck last night and thrown what witnesses estimated to be about 100 feet on Mammoth Road.
Police did not immediately release the boy’s name.
He was taken from the scene by ambulance that was nearby when the accident occurred, and then flown to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston by MedFlight, police said.
His condition was not immediately available.
Police said the boy suffered head injuries in the crash, which was reported shortly after 9 p.m.
Mike Robinson, of Lowell, and Scott Campbell, of Dracut, said the boy was in the crosswalk on Mammoth Road at the intersection with Lakeview Avenue when the truck, which had a green light, came south on Mammoth Road.
Jose F. Vasconcelos, 48, of 167 Litchfield Road, Londonderry, N.H., was driving the truck. Police said neither speed nor alcohol were factors.
“I don’t think he (the driver) could have seen the kid because he was in black clothes, and on a black bike with no reflectors,†Campbell said.
“I don’t think I would have seen him.â€
They said the boy bounced off the truck on impact and flew what they estimated to be about 100 feet through the air, landing at the Mammoth Road entrance to Dunkin’ Donuts.
Several pieces of medical equipment remained in the road by the entrance last night.
One of the boy’s shoes lay about 10 feet behind the black pickup truck, and a black hat with the band Slipknot’s insignia on it lay another 20 feet back near a fire truck.
Campbell said the boy was initially unconscious, but woke up about a minute later and began to move around.
He said an ambulance was pulling into the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot just after the accident occurred, and that the ambulance crew reached the boy just as he started to wake up about a minute after the crash.
Vasconcelos remained at the scene last night. He said he was too shaken to speak with a reporter.
One lane of Mammoth Road was closed at the intersection, and a state trooper was called in to help reconstruct the accident.
No charges have been filed.
via LowellSun.com
UPDATE:
A 14-year-old bicyclist who collided with a pickup truck at the intersection of Mammoth Road and Lakeview Avenue Thursday night remained hospitalized in Boston yesterday, police said. His condition could not be verified.Police are not releasing the boy’s name because of his age but said he
was in stable condition at Children’s Hospital.Jose Vasconcelos, 48, of Londonderry, N.H., who was driving the pickup truck, has not been charged, said Sgt. Michael Fleury.
Witnesses said the boy was thrown about 100 feet after the collision, then hit his head on the ground near the entrance to Dunkin’ Donuts.
It did not appear he was wearing a helmet.
Vasconcelos told police he was southbound on Mammoth Road crossing Lakeview Avenue with a green light at the same time the bicyclist tried to cross the intersection. He couldn’t brake in time and they collided.
The bike went under the front bumper and the boy hit the hood then bounced off to the right side and hit the pavement.
Witnesses said he regained consciousness after about a minute.
An initial analysis indicated speed did not play a role in the accident but police could not comment on other possible factors because the crash is still under investigation.
The boy was taken by ambulance to Lowell General Hospital then a helicopter flew him to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. From there he was taken to Children’s.
July 15th, 2005 at 3:45 pm
Has he gotten out of the hospital yet?