A city police cruiser passes the Franklin Street crosswalk where a woman pushing a baby stroller with an infant inside was struck by a vehicle on Aug. 4. She was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for serious injuries.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
WESTFIELD — Police said that a woman and a teenager on a bicycle were seriously injured in two separate incidents on Aug. 4 after being struck by vehicles, including one at the crosswalk on Franklin Street, where a wheelchair-bound man was struck and killed in 2024.
The more serious of the two occurred at about 8:40 p.m. when a woman, who was pushing a stroller with an infant inside, and another pedestrian were crossing the walk on Franklin Street between Kellogg and Madison streets, said Officer David Burl.
Burl said the driver’s vehicle struck the woman pushing the stroller, causing serious injuries to her. Neither the infant nor the other pedestrian were injured.
She was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment, he said, adding that he was unsure of her condition on Wednesday morning.
The driver, a 45-year-old man who had been convicted of an OUI in May 2025, was operating on a hardship work license that only allowed him to drive between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Burl said.
He added that the driver didn’t leave the scene after the incident.
The driver was cited for using a handheld device while driving, speeding, violating the terms of his hardship driver’s license and violating the city’s crosswalk ordinance, Burl said.
The second incident occurred earlier at the intersection of Prospect Street Ext and Hawk’s Circle at 5:24 p.m.
Burl said the involved vehicle was travelling southeast on Ext. When it approached the entrance of the Hawk’s Circle neighborhood, a 15-year-old boy on a bicycle darted out into the road and was struck.
“He did a good job of trying to evade the collision,” Burl said of the 70-year-old driver. “If he hadn’t, he would have struck him head-on.”
The front wheel of the teenager’s bicycle collided with the vehicle, Burl said.
The boy suffered injuries to his face, arms and legs and was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment, he said.
The city has taken significant steps to improve pedestrian safety along Franklin and Elm streets over the last three years after three pedestrians were killed when struck by a vehicle over the last five years.
In September 2024, a 76-year-old man crossing Franklin Street between Kellogg and Madison streets in a motorized wheelchair was struck. He died later that day of his injuries.
The driver of the vehicle pleaded guilty in 2025 to misdemeanor vehicular homicide and had her license revoked for 15 years. She was placed on probation for two years.
Immediately after the incident, the driver admitted to being distracted seconds before the collision.
On May 5, 2023, a woman crossing at the pedestrian crosswalk on Elm Street near the District Courthouse and CVS died after being struck by a vehicle, according to Police Department logs.
On Sept. 12, 2021, a man was struck by a car at the intersection of Mechanic and Bartlett streets and died the next day of his injuries, according to crash data compiled by the state Department of Transportation.
Burl said the city continues to employ every available resource to create safer conditions for pedestrians.
The city has installed a flashing light crosswalk signal on Franklin Street, at the crosswalk on Elm Street where the woman was killed in 2023 and at other crosswalks throughout the city.
The grant funds pay for officers to focus for four hours during a shift on stopping and citing drivers for distracted driving, he said.
However, nothing is more important than a driver’s full attention while driving.
“When driving, you shouldn’t be eating, on your phone, or putting on makeup,” he said.
He also warned drivers whose vehicles have large LED screens inside not to allow them to become a distraction.
He added that no one should ever drive with a pet on their lap.
Burl said the department is currently conducting a distracted driver initiative funded by a federal grant.
“They are to pull over as many drivers as they can for distracted driving,” Burl said.
