SAUGUS — Police are investigating after two people were struck by a car on Central Street shortly after noon on Tuesday.
Jack Dalton, a glazer at All-City Glass, said he was outside working on a truck with his back turned to the road when he heard a loud bang that sounded like two cars colliding.
He turned to see two people lying in the road just past the crosswalk and a small black car continuing to drive slowly down the road, he said. The car, which had a large hole in the windshield, stopped a few hundred feet away beside the tennis court, he said.
“I ran in and called 911 and, in case the guy fled, I asked the alarm company to check their video cameras,” said Dalton. “They got hit hard. He wasn’t just putting around. He must have been going 35 to 40 miles per hour. There was a huge hole in the windshield. When it’s real cold, glass breaks easier but that must have been a hard impact.”
The driver, who is also described by police only as an elderly man, is cooperating with the investigation, said Saugus Police Lt. Ronald Giorgetti.
The elderly man and woman each suffered significant trauma but were conscious and alert when police arrived on scene, said Giorgetti. Their injuries are described as not life-threatening and both were transported to local hospitals, he said.
Eight years ago, 81-year-old Christos Agganis was killed feet away by a hit-and-run driver as he tried to cross the street to visit the Hammersmith Family Restaurant for dinner. Agganis owned a Greek restaurant in Lynn before retiring to Greece for 20 years. About five years after his wife died, he returned to the United States to live in a Central Street apartment. He would visit the Hammersmith, which was owned by his family members, for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, according to an Item story published in 2010.
“It’s a dangerous place,” said Arthur Hovsepia, owner of Sassoun Jewelry. “A guy was killed here. I really think they should put a flashing yellow light up. There’s a blind corner. A few of my customers’ cars have been hit and one time a girl rode her bike right into the (store’s) window.”
The accident remains under investigation. Police will review any potential video surveillance and interview all witnesses before determining whether the driver will be charged or cited, said Giorgetti.
He declined to comment on where the driver and victims live, their exact ages, where they are being treated for their injuries, and whether the pedestrians were in the crosswalk at the time of the crash.
