Girl, 10, Struck And Killed While Standing Outside Broken-Down Car
UPTON (CBS) -- A girl has died after she was struck while standing outside of a broken down car on the side of the Mass Pike in Upton.
Massachusetts State Police said the victim was a 10-year-old girl who was not driving, and that the crash occurred just before 6 p.m. Sunday near the North Street Overpass.
They said two cars, a 2011 Toyota Camry and 1999 Jeep Wrangler, were travelling together to New York when the Jeep got a flat tire. The two cars pulled over in the breakdown lane, with the Jeep a short distance behind the Camry.
The owner of the Camry, a 33-year-old New Carrollton, Maryland man, got out to assist the jeep driver. His 10-year-old daughter got out of the car too, and stood near the rear.
Police said the car that hit the girl was a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by a 41-year-old Conway, New Hampshire man with a 44-year-old Freedom, New Hampshire woman in the passenger seat.
After a preliminary investigation, troopers found that the Tahoe had swerved to the left when the car in front of it slowed down. It stopped between the pulled-over Jeep and Camry, but the driver told police he didn't notice the Camry, and hit it in the rear--where the 10-year-old was standing.
She was then transported to UMass Medical Center in Worcester, where she was pronounced dead.
A 1-year-old girl who was inside the car at the time of the crash was also taken to the hospital as a precaution.
State Police are still investigating the crash. Because she is a juvenile, the 10-year-old's name will not be released.
