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Driver Hits Pedestrian, Flees in Gruesome Charlestown Killing

The corner of Terminal Street and Chelsea Street in Charlestown, the approximate location where a pedestrian was fatally struck on Tuesday, January 5, 2021. Courtesy of Google Street View.

On Tuesday morning in Charlestown, a motor vehicle operator struck a pedestrian and dragged their body for nearly a mile along city streets, eventually killing them, according to Boston Police.

The crime scene stretched from the Charlestown Autoport, where police suspect the victim was initially hit around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, to City Square, where the victim's lifeless body was ultimately located.

“It appears that it started down at Terminal Street all the way at the end of Chelsea Street, and (came) right to the I-93 on-ramp behind us,” Boston Police Deputy Superintendent James Miller told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

The perpetrator had fled from the scene, but Boston Police reported later in the day that they had located a "vehicle of interest" connected to their investigation, which is still underway.

Chelsea Street is a major trucking route that connects the Boston Autoport along the Mystic River to I-93 at City Square.

A Google Street View image of the corner of Terminal Street near Chelsea Street in Charlestown, the approximate location where a pedestrian was fatally struck on Tuesday, January 5, 2021.
A Google Street View image of the corner of Terminal Street near Chelsea Street in Charlestown, the approximate location where a pedestrian was fatally struck on Tuesday, January 5, 2021.
A Google Street View image of the corner of Terminal Street near Chelsea Street in Charlestown, the approximate location where a pedestrian was fatally struck on Tuesday, January 5, 2021.

At the purported crash site, where Chelsea Street meets Terminal Street, there are no crosswalks, and only one narrow sidewalk on the south side of Chelsea Street.

Google Street View photos (at right) show a well-worn dirt pathway along Terminal Street, which otherwise lacks any pedestrian accommodations. The path ends at Chelsea Street, where a guardrail blocks the way and forces any pedestrians into the street.

Police are asking any potential witnesses to share information by calling the Boston Police Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470.

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