crash_reports

Operator #1 states that she was traveling northbound by 226 Lexington St when she observed vehicle #2, a white Ford Explorer, approaching at a high rate of speed from Lexington St southbound. Vehicle #2 then crossed the double yellow line into the northbound lane, subsequently sideswiping vehicle #1. Operator #1 states that two parties exited the Explorer and spoke briefly to her. Once she requested to exchange information, the two refused and drove away on Lexington St southbound. Operator #1 described the parties as a hispanic male and hispanic female, around 50 years old. The male party was balding/or bald, and the female was wearing a silver turtleneck. Operator #1 noted that it was the male who was operating the vehicle both during the collision and as the vehicle left the scene. While medics were documenting a patient refusal for operator #1, Ofc Ciccone was en route to NPD headquarters to report for duty in his p/v and heard the broadcast for the suspect vehicle. Ofc Ciccone observed a white Explorer with a flat tire traveling an estimated 50+ mph past him on South Ave by Park Rd in Weston heading towards Natick. This location is approximately 2.2 miles from the crash site and is accessible from 226 Lexington St by heading southbound, taking a right, and continuing straight on Rt 30. Weston Pd was immediately notified and the vehicle was located in a driveway at 7 High Meadow Rd, a residence directly on the corner of Rt 30. Sgt Rooney and Ofc Ciccone (who was able to take a spare cruiser and call into service as this incident unfolded) responded and met Weston PD. While on scene, it was explained to all officers by the resident of 7 High Meadow Rd, Helder Quesada, that he was walking his dog and observed the white Explorer broken down in an unsafe spot. Quesada offered up his driveway to park the vehicle as the male and female occupants waited for assistance. Quesada allegedly does not know Lopez and Albizureis, and all involved persons were outside in the driveway when police located the vehicle. The description of the male asociated with the Explorer matched that which operator #1 gave to me- a hispanic male balding in his 50's. He was in the presence of a hispanic female who was wearing a silver colored turtleck. The male was identified as Armando Lopez-Rubi DOB 1/1/73 and the female Ana Maria Albizureis DOB 11/27/73. The Explorer was MA reg 6GZ591, registered to a different party then all on scene. It had obvious damage to the left side doors consistent with an opposite direction sideswipe. With the translation assistance of Helder Quesada, Lopez-Rubi stated to Sgt Rooney and Officer Ciccone that he was in fact driving somewhere near Starbucks "on the corner" when he got into an accident (there is a large Starbucks located on the corner of Commonwealth Ave and Lexington St in Newton). Lopez originally said that the other involved vehicle left the scene, however it was pointed out by Sgt Rooney that the operator was currently stopped in Newton talking to me and was cooperative. Upon routine query it was discovered that Lopez-Rubi does not have a license to operate a motor vehicle. Pursuant to the investigation, Officer Ciccone issued in hand to Lopez MA citation R8006998 for the following: 89/4a- Marked Lanes Violation 90/24- Leaving Scene of Property Damage 90/10- Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle. Vehicle #2 was left in the driveway of 7 High Meadow Rd with Helder Quesada's permission. Quesada also volunteered to drive home both Lopez and Albizureis to Framingham, as he was feeling charitable. Vehicle #1 was towed by Tody's due to the amount of damage and airbag deployment. A m/v inventory form was filled out.

On Monday, June 14, 2021 while assigned to Traffic unit N525, I responded to the intersection of Park Street and Alba Circle for a report of a motor vehicle crash involving a pedestrian. The weather at the time of the crash was overcast with light rain. The road surface at the location of the crash was wet. Park Street and Alba Circle are public ways maintained by the City of Newton. Park Street supports two way travel (N, S) with no marked divider to indicate travel lanes. I spoke with the operator of the 2013 Nissan Juke (MA: 137LX7) involved in the crash, Ms. Cynthia Cowan (S59504510). Ms. Cowan stated she was traveling on Park Street (N) towards Alba Circle. Ms. Cowan stated ahead of her there was a large landscaping truck (MA CON: X1515, 2001 Ford DRWSUP) parked on the right side of the roadway and blocking her lane of travel. Ms. Cowan stated she looked ahead of the landscaping truck and did not see any traffic coming towards her in the opposite lane. Ms. Cowan stated she entered the opposite lane of travel (S) to pass the parked landscaping truck and continue down Park Street. Ms. Cowan stated as she was traveling past the front of the landscaping truck, she crashed into a standing mower that had entered the roadway. Ms. Cowan stated the mower entered the roadway from in front of the parked landscaping truck. Ms. Cowan stated because of her obstructed view from the landscaping truck, she did not see the mower until it was too late. Ms. Cowan stated she stopped her vehicle and observed the operator of the mower on the sidewalk in front of 248 Park Street. I observed damage to the front passenger fender/bumper/wheel area with airbag deployment from the driver seat. I also observed yellow paint transfer on the front bumper area consistant with the color of the mower involved. MV1 was removed from the roadway by Tody's Towing. Ms. Cowan signed a patient refusal with Newton Medics and walked home from the crash site. The other party involved in the crash is a landscaper for 4 Seasons Services. I observed a yellow Wright Standing Mower 52" resting on the side of the roadway in the Northbound lane. The mower has significant damage to its front portion. 4 Seasons Services removed the mower from the roadway. A worker on scene estimated the value of the mower to be $11,000.00. Photos were taken of the mower, MV1, and the roadway and submited to the IT Bureau. The injured party, Mr. Louis Padilla-Gonzalez (S32927586), was transported to Newton Wellesley Hospital for a left shoulder injury and an injury to the left side of his face. I spoke with Mr. Padilla-Gonzalez in the emergency room with the assitance of a language translation service set up by the nursing staff there. Mr. Padilla-Gonzalez stated he was operating the standing mower and left the sidewalk into the road. Mr. Padilla-Gonzalez stated he drove by the front of the parked landscaping truck and when he got into the street he saw a car coming towards him fast. Mr. Padilla-Gonzalez stated he tried to reverse the mower and get out of the way, but he could not because of the wet roadway. Mr. Padilla-Gonzalez stated he was hit by MV1 and thrown from the mower to the street. After speaking with Ms. Cowan and Mr. Padilla-Gonzalez, it appears both parties had their view of the roadway obstructed due to where the 4 Seasons Services landscaping truck (MA CON: X1515) was parked. I did not observe any posted parking restrictions where the vehicle was parked, but due to the size of the vehicle it did take up the entire Northbound travel lane in front of 248 Park Street. The location of the parked landscaping truck and the wet road surface contributed to the crash. There were no witnesses to the crash.

On 10/19/21 at 08:30 hours, Sgt. Wade notified me that he received an email regarding a motor vehicle accident involving a pedestrian/student that occurred on 10/15/21 between the hours of 08:20am and 08:35am. The crash was never reported by the operator of the vehicle or the student/pedestrian. Approximately two hours later, the student went to the nurse's office seeking assistance for neck pain which is how the school became aware. This crash occurred in the marked crosswalk on Brandeis Road in front of Newton South High School which is located at 139 Brandeis Road. The weather at the time was 63 degrees with mostly cloudy and sunny conditions (wunderground.com). Brandeis Road is a two way roadway divided by an unprotected median that runs east and westbound. In front of the school there is a marked crosswalk in the roadway. There is also a one way driveway near the main entrance of the school with parking stalls and parents can drop their children off there on the right side of the driveway. The driveway then leads back out to Brandeis Road. Right after you exit the lot there is the above mentioned crosswalk to the left of the driveway which is very visible with nothing obstructing your view. On arrival, I spoke to the Dean of the school named Charlie Myette. Mr. Myette brought me to his office and started looking at the school's video surveillance system. He also requested that the student/pedestrian involved to report to his office. The student was identified as Tsukasa Iinishi. I asked Mr. Iinishi what had occurred and he stated that he was walking to school on the morning of 10/15/21. He says that he was wearing a pink hoody sweatshirt with gray shorts. He was walking through the woods which is across the street from the school which exit out to Brandeis Road. He says that he waited at the crosswalk and let two vehicles go westbound by him. He then thought it was clear to proceed and started walking. At the tail end of the crosswalk he was struck by a red colored Toyota Prius which exited left from the driveway and was on the left side of the roadway. He was struck on the left side of his body and he says that he used his left hand to brace himself against the hood and that's when the Prius stopped. He says that the operator of the Prius asked him if he was okay and he replied that he was. He then kept walking toward the school. The operator then continued on it's way without providing any information or notifying us. He described the operator as an Asian female with black hair approximately 40 to 50 yrs in age. During this time, Mr. Myette was able to find surveillance video of the crash. There are two camera angles. One shows the driveway along with the walkway of the school building. The other one shows the same but it also overlooks out in to Brandeis Road. The view of the road is partially blocked from the parked cars in the lot. The video shows a red colored Toyota Prius pull in to the driveway of the school. An Asian female student wearing a white long sleeve shirt with green lettering and dark colored jeans exits the passenger front of the Prius and eventually enters the school. The Prius then pulls out and goes toward the left side of the driveway around other vehicles waiting to exit. At 08:27 hours, the Prius pulls out angling towards the left side of the driveway going around other vehicles waiting to exit. The Prius then exits the lot on the left side (wrong side) of the roadway and makes contact with the pedestrian. In the video you cannot see the front hood area of the car, but you see Iinishi's torso bend towards the vehicle on impact. It shows the Prius stopped there for approximately ten seconds and then it drives away. In the video you are not able to see the registration plate number. Mr. Myette is going to send the photo of the student dropped off in the Prius to his staff to have her identified so I can follow up with the operator. On 10/21/21, I received an email from Mr. Myette stating that some of his staff has not come forward on the identification of the student. He stated that he would now send a message out to a larger group of staff to see if he gets a response. He also attempted to enhance the registration plate using the surveillance software but the plate is still too blurry to make out. On 10/25/21 at approximately 08:40 hours, I went over to Newton South High School to see if I could locate the red Toyota Prius involved in the crash. As I was driving on Olde Field Road approaching Brandeis Road near the school, I observed a red Prius approximately four cars ahead of me in heavy school traffic. Eventually, I observed the Prius pull in to the drop off driveway of the school and drop an Asian female student off. I identified her as the same student that got out of Prius prior to the past accident on 10/15/21. The operator was an Asian female which appeared to be in her late forties. After, the Prius exits the lot on to Brandeis Road and I flagged her down. I had her pull in to the parking lot across the street from the school. I asked her if she was involved in a accident with a student on the morning of 10/15/21 to which she replied that she was. She was identified as Xiaojin Liu through her MA Driver's License # S49033927. She was operating a 2010 Toyota Prius bearing MA reg.# 8JY630. I asked her what occurred and she stated that she was exiting the driveway of the school to turn left on to Brandeis Road. She says that she has a habit to think that no one is ever walking through the crosswalk and thought it was clear to proceed. She turned and then saw the student crossing and attempted to stop but was not able to in time. She then bumped the student with the front of her vehicle. She says that she stopped and asked the student if he was ok several times and he stated that he was. The student then walked away and she says that she did not know what else to do. I advised her that she should of gave her information to the student, notify the school, or call us to which she understood. I issued MA Uniform Citation # 172129AB to Ms. Liu for Ch. 90/24/A Leaving the scene of personal injury. After, I went inside the school and notified Mr. Myette of my findings. I asked him for the surveillance footage as I previously did in person and through email. He stated that he would put the video on a zip drive and notify me.