UMass Police appeal for help in finding hit-and run driver that left one seriously injured

AMHERST – Police are appealing to the public for help in finding the driver of an SUV who failed to stop after striking a pedestrian crossing Massachusetts Avenue in a crosswalk on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus around 10:15 p.m. Monday. The pedestrian was seriously injured, taken to Baystate Medical Center, where he remains.

According to police investigators, a 20-year-old UMass Amherst student was crossing Massachusetts Avenue in a crosswalk near Sunset Avenue, having nearly reached the other side, when a white or silver colored SUV traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed struck him with the front driver’s side of the vehicle. The vehicle failed to stop and continued travelling eastbound on Massachusetts Avenue.
Police have issued a Be-On-The-Look-Out (BOLO) appeal for a while/silver SUV with possible front-end damage.

The crash remains under investigation by the UMass Police Department, Massachusetts State Police Detectives attached to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, State Police Crime Scene Services Section and the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.

“We are not only appealing to the public for their help identifying the driver involved in this incident, but appealing to the driver as well,” said Northwestern First Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne. “What happened last night is likely weighing on their conscience, and this is their opportunity to do the right thing by coming forward.”

Anyone with any information about the SUV is asked to call the UMass police at 545-2121 or 545-TIPS (8477).