Marlboro Police arrest hit-and-run driver that left 12-year-old Dominic Matos seriously hurt
MARLBORO - Marlboro Police have arrested the driver wanted in a hit-and-run crash that left a 12-year-old seriously hurt.
Dominic Matos was riding his bike on Route 20 (Boston Post Road) around 11:45 a.m. Sunday when he was hit by an SUV. The suspected driver, 19-year-old Andy Lopez, did not stop, according to police.
Matos's mother, Desirae Ayala, told WBZ-TV her son was rushed to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester where he had surgery and is suffering from a brain bleed, a fractured skull and a blood clot in his head. There is an online fundraiser hoping to raise $10,000 to help him and his family.
"He's robbing my son of a childhood," Ayala said. "What monster hits a child and then keeps going?"
Lopez is facing multiple charges including leaving the scene of a crash with personal injury and driving without a license. He was held on $5,000 cash bail after an arraignment Monday.
"The defendant did knowingly strike this person and then flee from the scene," prosecutor Mary Rose Dobson said.
Dominic's family says he was returning from the store on his bike with a gallon of milk for his baby sister. Adriel Marcado saw the whole thing and was with Dominic moments before the crash.
"He hit him right on the back. The bike went under the car and shot up and almost hit me," Marcado said.
Investigators released surveillance images of the SUV Sunday hoping to generate leads in the search. Witnesses described it as gray or light green, possibly a Toyota Highlander.
"The police also located the defendant and the vehicle from the fact that one of the children, the child that was struck, was carrying a gallon milk, and there was milk sprayed all over the defendant's vehicle," Mary Rose Dobson said.
Dominic's mother says her son has a long road ahead. He's a young kid full of energy loves sports and excited to begin the 7th grade. "He chose to just plow through my child," Ayala said.
Right now, Dominic is in critical condition having already undergone surgery. "He's in critical condition on a ventilator, had a chunk of his skull removed and we are praying for an absolute miracle," his Aunt Victoria Quinan said.