Driver identified in hit-and-run crash that injured girl riding bike in East Bridgewater
EAST BRIDGEWATER – Police in East Bridgewater have identified the woman they say struck a 13-year-old girl on a bicycle with her car on Sunday and then drove away.
Surveillance video released by police shows the vehicle driving through the parking lot of Central Elementary School in East Bridgewater. When the car cannot exit the parking lot by Bedford Street, it turns around and then strikes the girl who had just emerged from a wooded cut-through into the parking lot on her bike. Police believe the girl was pushed approximately 60 feet.
The driver, a 62-year-old woman from Florida, will be summoned by Brockton District Court on charges of negligent operation of motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury. The woman's name was not released by police. She has relatives in the area, according to police.
East Bridgewater police thanked residents who offered tips after seeing video of the incident.
"Without the information provided by the public, we would have had a much harder time reaching a resolution," East Bridgewater Police Chief Michael Jenkins said.
Twelve-year-old Holly Mae Silva is friends with the girl and watched it all happen. Thankfully, her friend escaped with minor injuries and was not taken to the hospital.
"Like, she was pushing her whole body against the bike so the car wouldn't go on top of her," Silva said, "She has bruises on her legs. She showed me on the phone last night. She has cuts on her elbows. The whole hoodie she was wearing is all ripped up."
Silva said the woman, who was wearing blue scrubs, exited her vehicle and asked her friend if she was OK. Then, Silva recalls the woman she said something strange before driving away.
"I asked if she was a nurse because she had scrubs on and then she said that she was. And then, she asked if she was OK. And then my friend said, 'Yeah.' And then the lady said, 'Go home and go shower,' and then got in the car and left," Silva said.
The girl was evaluated on scene by East Bridgewater paramedics. Her mother responded to the scene and declined medical transportation for her daughter.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call East Bridgewater Police at (508) 378-7223.
