Police seek SUV driver following hit and run in Whately

WHATELY — Police are on the lookout for a small gray SUV that was last seen heading south on Routes 5 and 10 Monday afternoon after the driver struck a pedestrian and drove away from the scene.

Members of the Whately Police and Fire departments, along with the South Deerfield Fire District, responded near the state route’s intersection with Christian Lane at around 1:30 p.m. The pedestrian, a man estimated to be in his 30s by Whately Police Chief James Sevigne Jr., was walking his dog when he was struck by the SUV and thrown over the guardrail on the south side of the intersection, falling to the ground roughly 6 feet below.

First responders placed the pedestrian, who was conscious and alert upon arrival, in a basket and lifted him back over the railing. He was transported by South County EMS to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield with serious injuries. Sevigne said an initial call for a medical helicopter was canceled upon first responders’ arrival.

The scene was cleared for traffic by 2:10 p.m. and Sevigne was preparing to transport the pedestrian’s dog, who was unharmed, to a kennel in Greenfield before checking on the pedestrian’s condition.

“Right now we don’t have too much information,” Sevigne said. “The best description we have right now is of an SUV, dark gray color, maybe, that was heading south on Routes 5 and 10.”

Initial calls to dispatchers suggested the hit and run may have been deliberate. Sevigne said he spoke with two witnesses who did not see an “altercation” before the accident, but the SUV was stopped on the road before moving and hitting the pedestrian. He said it is possible the pedestrian was getting in or out of the vehicle before he was hit, or that the SUV’s driver had stopped and was talking to the pedestrian while he walking his dog.

“I don’t know if he knows the driver, but there was definitely some sort of conversation or interaction between the two,” Sevigne said.

The accident remains under investigation while officers search for the driver and wait to speak with the pedestrian. Those with information that might help find the driver are encouraged to call the Whately Police Department at 413-665-0430 or Shelburne Control Dispatch Center at 413-625-8200.

Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.