On Sunday afternoon, a truck driver struck and killed a 4-year-old girl in front of her family next to the Boston Children's Museum in the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston.
Police say that the homicide occurred at the intersection of Congress and Sleeper Street around 5:06 p.m. on Sunday. EMTs took the 4-year-old girl to Mass. General Hospital, where she was officially declared dead.
Photos of the crime scene from Boston 25 reporter Drew Karedes showed a dark grey Ford F-150 pickup truck with Massachusetts license plate "4Z3" stopped in the middle of Sleeper Street, just beyond the faded crosswalk at the intersection with Congress Street. Several police evidence markers lay on the pavement next to its wheels.
Karedes's tweet also alleged, without evidence, that the killing was an "accident," in violation of Associated Press guidelines for reporting on crashes.
Boston Police say 4-year-old girl has died after auto pedestrian accident on Sleeper & Congress in Fort Point near Boston Children's Museum. Police say driver remained on scene #Boston25 pic.twitter.com/kx4Dj8HAxd
— Drew Karedes (@DrewKaredes) March 24, 2024
StreetsblogMASS has reached out to the Boston Police Department to learn if any charges have been filed.
City of Boston knows about Sleeper Street's pedestrian hazards
In its current form, Sleeper Street only has one sidewalk, on the south side of the street; the side abutting the Children's Museum has only a curb that's only inches wide.
Tragically, the City of Boston is gearing up to get underway with safety improvements for Congress, Sleeper, and A Streets – a project that's been planned for several years.
The project will narrow the roadway by installing an ADA-compliant sidewalk on both sides of the street and aims to calm motor vehicle traffic further with several sidewalk bump-outs.
Plans also called for a safer raised crosswalk at the intersection of Sleeper and Congress, where Sunday's homicide occurred.
"We are going to provide compliant pedestrian facilities, which Sleeper Street does not have today," said Kevin Morrison, a project engineer for HDR, in testimony before the Boston Public Improvement Commission on March 14.
