Personal Injury Law

12-Year-Old's Family FIles Massachusetts Pedestrian Lawsuit Against Methuen Teen and Her Dad

By Altman & Altman

The family of a 12-year-old boy who was seriously injured in a Massachusetts pedestrian accident is suing Michelle Medeiros and her dad Fernando for personal injuries to a minor. Michelle, 17, is accused of striking Kelvin Savanhmixay and then leaving the crash scene. Now, his family is seeking damages for his pain and suffering and the injuries that he sustained during the traffic crash, including permanent disfigurement and loss of function.

Lowell police say Medeiros?s motor vehicle struck Kelvin at the intersection of Route 113 and Mammoth Road, causing him to fly about 20 feet in the air. Rather than stopping to help the boy, the teen driver is accused of leaving him dead and rushing off to a Lawrence salon for a hair appointment.

Michelle then called Lawrence police to report that someone had vandalized her father?s car. She also allegedly filed a false police report and had the vehicle towed to a body shop in an attempt to cover up evidence from the Massachusetts car accident.

Police say Michelle later confessed to her involvement in the Massachusetts hit-and-run crash. The high school senior is charged with passing a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating at a speed greater than reasonable and proper, leaving the scene of an accident, and failure to use caution when changing lanes.

Hit-and-Run Accidents
Motorists are not allowed to drive away without stopping at the crash scene anytime they are involved in a pedestrian accident. To do so is called hit-and-run driving and against the law. Leaving a crash site can prove catastrophic if the pedestrian is seriously injured and no one calls for medical help. In some pedestrian accidents, victims who should otherwise have survived and recovered from their injuries ended up dying because the motorist that struck them didn't contact 911.

Law suit filed against Methuen teen in hit and run, The Eagle-Tribune, December 29, 2009

Hit-And-Run Victim Home, With Sense Of Humor, WBZ, November 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Massachusetts Department of Transportation

Full post as published by Boston Injury Lawyer Blog on January 15, 2010 (boomark / email).