A tragic incident unfolded yesterday as a child was struck by a car in Salem. Witnesses reported to 7NEWS that the child was crossing Congress Street with his siblings when he was hit. The Salem Police Department confirmed that a pedestrian had been struck. A neighbor, Donna Howell, expressed her concern to 7NEWS, saying, "I know he lives in my building, that's all they just moved there," and "They are always outside. I mean boys are boys! I see them cross the street like there's no tomorrow. In the dark you can't wear dark clothes, in the dark you have to wear bright clothes so people can see you."
The boy was seriously injured and had to be transported to the hospital by a medical helicopter. This is not an isolated event; residents have reported similar incidents in the past. "Happens all the time. Happened down the street they killed the lady down there, the next street over I think it was," one man recounted. Howell shared her own harrowing experience, "My son got his by a car out here. He flew up in the air on a bike, we almost lost him," she told 7NEWS. With the holiday season making it "very hard," Howell added, "all I can do is pray for the little boy."
In a separate but related incident, another tragedy struck Salem streets the same evening, as reported by the Boston Globe. Three people were hit by a vehicle on Congress Street around 5 p.m., according to Salem's Deputy Fire Chief Scott Austin. One of the victims was critically injured and airlifted to a hospital in Boston. The other two sustained minor injuries. As of last night, the conditions of the victims remained undisclosed.
The section of Congress Street where the accidents occurred, between Palmer and Dow streets, was closed for investigation but later reopened around 11 p.m. There were no visible signs of the crash following the road's reopening.
