Daughter of woman seriously hurt in Stoneham hit-and-run crash urges driver to ‘do the right thing’

STONEHAM, Mass. — Police are searching for a car that hit a woman who was crossing the street with her granddaughter and her dog in Stoneham on Saturday night.

The woman was crossing the road with her granddaughter and the family dog in the area of Spring Street and Pleasant Street around 8:45 p.m. when the vehicle hit her, tossing her into the air.

The vehicle, a small gray or silver SUV, appears to be speeding as it hits the woman walking with her family in the crosswalk, according to surveillance video shared by the Stoneham Police Department.

Police searching for car that hit woman crossing street with granddaughter, dog in Stoneham Police searching for car that hit woman crossing street with granddaughter, dog in Stoneham

The woman, identified by family as Louise Ward, was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for her serious injuries.

Police say the driver never stopped.

“My mother was unconscious on the ground and the person who did that to her just continued down the road,” said Erin Dirks, the victim’s daughter. “But you now have the opportunity to do the right thing, there’s no way the person operating that vehicle doesn’t know it was a person they hit – they must have looked in their rearview mirror and saw my terrified little niece standing on the sidewalk, panicked right?”

Louise was walking with her granddaughter Riley and her dog.

“My nana saw that there was a car, she pushed me up, so I didn’t get hit,” said Riley.

Luckily Riley and her dog were okay while her nana was seriously hurt.

Riley says she saw that silver SUV speed by and called for help.

“I put my hand up so people could see me, I screamed and then somebody behind that car pulled over and helped me, and then everyone started pulling over,” said Riley.

Riley was able to get back home with police that night, while her nana was rushed to the hospital.

Her family says she has a long road to recovery.

“She has hip fractures, pelvis fractures, wrist fractures, arm fractures, a neck fracture, brain bleed, liver laceration, so she’s got a long way to go,” said Dirks.

Now this family hopes police will find the driver responsible as this mother and grandmother continue to recover.

“A lot of family rallying around her, but a lot of people, you know really shaken and upset, you can’t help but think of what could have happened,” said Dirks.

Many people who live near here say this is a dangerous street, so neighbors hope this accident will get more people to slow down.

Stoneham Police Chief James O’Connor is crediting Ward with warning her granddaughter of the oncoming car.

“The victim of this crash performed a heroic act by making sure her granddaughter was out of the way and safe,” said Stoneham Police Chief James O’Connor. “We are committed to finding justice for the victim and her family, and we ask that the community assists us if they can.”

Anyone with information about the incident or who believes they can identify the vehicle is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Chris Dalis at 781-438-1215, ext. 3133.

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