A two-year-old girl died after being struck by a car on Bellingham Street in Chelsea Wednesday night, in a crash that happened around 9:50 p.m. and ended with officers performing CPR in a desperate attempt to save her. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but did not survive.
According to wcvb.com, Chelsea Police said officers on scene attempted CPR and tried to save her life before she was rushed to CHA Everett Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. The driver stayed on scene and is cooperating with investigators, police said. As of the latest reporting, it remains unclear what caused the crash, and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office is investigating alongside Chelsea Police.
Per NBC Boston, which first reported the crash, police said no further details were immediately available as the investigation continues. The outlet noted the case remains open, with officers working to piece together exactly what happened on Bellingham Street that night.
State Police Reconstruction Team Called In
The Massachusetts State Police CPAC unit and its accident reconstruction team are assisting with the investigation, according to the Shrewsbury Post. Bringing in the reconstruction team signals that investigators are trying to carefully map out the physical details of the crash, from vehicle speed to the exact point of impact, before drawing conclusions about fault or cause.
No cause has been confirmed, and officials have not said whether any charges are being considered. The circumstances of how the toddler ended up in the roadway have not been disclosed.
Not the First Child Lost on the Same Street
This is not the first time a small child has died after being hit by a vehicle on Bellingham Street. Wcvb.com previously reported that a 19-month-old boy died after he was struck by a livery vehicle in Chelsea, in a crash involving a Toyota C-HR that had just picked up a passenger near 74 Bellingham St. That toddler suffered severe head trauma and was in critical condition when he was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, and the 45-year-old woman driving the vehicle remained at the scene afterward. In that earlier case, authorities said the investigation was ongoing to determine if criminal charges were warranted.
Whether this week's crash shares any connection to those earlier circumstances on the same street has not been addressed by investigators. For now, the cause of Wednesday night's crash remains under investigation by Chelsea Police, Massachusetts State Police and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.
Crash Data and Road Safety Push in Chelsea
Crash reports like this one feed into broader safety planning statewide. The MassDOT Highway Division uses crash information reported to the Registry of Motor Vehicles for data-driven safety analyses and traffic engineering studies, according to mass.gov.
Nationally, child pedestrian deaths remain a persistent concern. Half of children younger than 13 who were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2024 were male, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. No further details about Wednesday night's victim, including her name or family information, have been released as the investigation continues.
