A 47-year-old man is facing criminal charges after police say he fled the area after hitting a woman with his car, the second time the woman had been hit in the area of Rantoul Street in Beverly Sunday evening, police said.
Diego Mattos-Vazuldo, of Essex, is charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, Beverly police said in a statement.
Police were sent to 375 Rantoul St., which is down the street from The Pickled Onion, at 10:15 p.m. Sunday after receiving a report that a female pedestrian had been hit by a vehicle. When police arrived, they found a woman and “immediately began tending to her,” according to the statement.
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The woman was taken to Beverly Hospital before being flown by medical helicopter to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston with serious injuries. Her condition “has not been updated,” according to police.
Police believe the woman walked into the street and was first hit by a vehicle heading south. The driver of that vehicle remained in the area and is cooperating with police.
Subsequently, the woman was hit by a second vehicle, which police say was being driven by Mattos-Vazuldo. Mattos-Vazuldo “stopped for a matter of seconds before fleeing the scene,” according to police.
Witnesses to the crash gave police a description of the vehicle, which was sent to departments in surrounding areas. Essex police then stopped a vehicle matching the description.
After being stopped by Essex police, Mattos-Vazuldo told officers he “thought he may have struck something,” police said in the statement. He was taken to Beverly Police Department headquarters.
Mattos-Vazuldo was expected to be arraigned in Salem District Court Monday, police said.