A 7-year-old child was hit by a car on Park Street in Lynn Saturday evening, suffering facial and head abrasions before the driver allegedly fled the scene. Lynn police later located the vehicle and cited the driver for leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, though the child's injuries were described as non-life-threatening.
According to Boston 25 News, Lynn police responded to a report of a child struck by a car on Park Street on Saturday and found the 7-year-old suffering from facial and head abrasions. The child was transported to a hospital for treatment. Additional detail from The Legal Advocate places the response near 80 Park Street around 7 p.m., with emergency personnel stabilizing the child at the scene before transport.
Police say the driver left before officers arrived, but investigators located the vehicle and cited the driver for leaving the scene of a personal injury accident. It remains unclear what led up to the collision or whether the driver will face additional charges in court.
What Massachusetts Law Says About Fleeing an Injury Crash
Leaving the scene of a crash that causes personal injury is treated seriously under state law. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90, Section 24(2)(a½)(1), the offense carries a mandatory minimum of six months in a house of correction, up to two years, along with a fine between $500 and $1,000 and at least a one-year license suspension, according to legal guidance published by Neyman Law.
Unlike simpler property-damage hit-and-run cases, this charge cannot be resolved through a Continuance Without a Finding, meaning a judge must issue an explicit disposition rather than allowing the case to be continued without a formal finding of guilt. That procedural detail is spelled out in supplemental jury instructions published by Mass.gov. It's not yet known whether prosecutors will pursue formal criminal charges against the driver beyond the citation Lynn police already issued.
A Stretch of Road With a Documented Crash History
The collision adds to a troubling pattern for Lynn streets. Between 2018 and 2022, 14 people died and more than 2,800 were injured in traffic crashes across the city, prompting officials to partner with MassDOT on a citywide Vision Zero Safety Action Plan, according to the City of Lynn. A separate study from the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization flagged the intersection of Park Street and Western Avenue specifically as a high-crash area, logging 223 collisions over a five-year monitoring period.
Statewide, hit-and-run crashes involving pedestrians are drawing increased scrutiny. A June report from WalkMassachusetts found that 17% of all fatal pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts in 2025 involved drivers who fled the scene without stopping. The same report found pedestrians made up 76 of the state's 354 traffic fatalities that year, over 21%, with nearly 70% of those deadly crashes happening on municipal streets managed by local cities and towns rather than state highways.
Nationally, young children remain especially vulnerable in these kinds of collisions. NHTSA data from 2023 showed 46 children aged 5 to 9 were killed in pedestrian traffic collisions nationwide, representing 15% of all child pedestrian fatalities under age 20.
Part of a Wider Pattern in Lynn
Saturday's crash follows other recent incidents that have kept pedestrian safety in the spotlight in Lynn. Just two months ago, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on the Lynnway near Commercial Street, an incident that renewed community attention to local traffic enforcement and infrastructure. State law also gives municipalities tools to address these risks: under M.G.L. c. 90, § 17C, cities and towns can lower default speed limits from 30 mph to 25 mph in thickly settled or business districts to reduce vehicle speeds and protect pedestrians. Whether Lynn officials plan any such change for the Park Street corridor has not been announced.
