A Newton man used his SUV to kill a 68-year-old victim walking in a crosswalk near Wollaston Beach in Quincy on Saturday.
According to Massachusetts State Police, the perpetrator was allegedly driving a 2018 Mercedes-Benz SUV in the left travel lane of the four-lane Quincy Shore Drive when he drove head-on into his victim, a 68-year-old Canton man, who was in a marked crosswalk at the intersection of West Elm Avenue.
The crash occurred around 11:22 a.m. on Saturday, August 15. Wollaston Beach lifeguards and bystanders who were nurses reportedly rushed to the victim's aid, but he was later pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center.
The perpetrator remained at the scene of the crash and is not yet facing any criminal charges, although the crash remains under investigation. Neither the victim nor the perpetrator have been identified.
Oddly, in its press release about the crash, State Police asserted that "speed was not a factor," in contradiction of the evidence that the perpetrator was traveling at a non-zero speed through an occupied crosswalk, and that the perpetrator's vehicle was traveling with sufficient momentum to deliver a fatal blow to his victim.
Quincy Shore Drive is a four-lane highway under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. It divides Wollaston Beach, a popular recreational destination, from the dense residential neighborhoods of North Quincy and Norfolk Downs, and is within walking distance of the North Quincy and Wollaston stations on the Red Line.
According to state crash records, here has been a fatal crash somewhere on Quincy Shore Drive every year since 2017. It's one of the most dangerous roadways in Quincy, with 114 reported injury-causing crashes since 2017.
