Man says his daughter was driver who struck 4 kids in hit-and-run

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    STONEHAM, MA (WCVB) — A man says one of his daughters is the driver who struck four children in Stoneham Sunday night and fled the scene.

Danill DeTomasi, a father of six, is apologizing for his daughter’s actions.

“I just thank God that nobody got seriously hurt (and) nobody died,” DeTomasi said. “I want the right thing to be done. You know, she did wrong and she’s got to take care of it.”

A neighbor said the driver involved in the hit-and-run crash turned from Elm Street onto McArthur Road just after 6:30 p.m. He said the children were standing with their bikes in front of his home when the car took the sharp turn, hit the kids, and then hit the car parked in his driveway.

Surveillance video shows the car, described as a dark-colored Subaru Legacy, back out of the driveway and took off while one of the kid’s bicycles was lodged underneath it.

Dianne Dunnell, who lives near the crash site, put up reflectors and solar-powered lights Monday at a nearby crosswalk.

“I know the town has tried to put some signage up here, and they do get destroyed by cars coming by, so they’re doing something, but I figured a little extra can’t hurt,” she said.

Police said the injuries were minor, but two of the children were taken to the hospital.

“I just looked over and I saw headlights coming right at me,” victim Julia Cabral said.

“All I remember is trying to get out of the way and then flying through the air,” said another victim, Caden Parks-Miller. “I hit off the other car and then flew into the garden.”

Three of the four victims, who are all 13 years old, spoke to WCVB on Monday. They said they were just hanging out when the car came right at them, giving them little time to react.

“The fact that she hit four teenage kids and then ran away is just, like, unimaginable,” Cabral said.

“Just accept what you’ve done and go to the police yourself instead of just leaving, and that’s way worse,” said victim Vincenzo Guarino.

DeTomasi said his daughter told him that she was going to turn herself in to police.

“That would be the right thing to do,” he said. “She was probably doing something wrong, or whatever, because you don’t lose control of a car like that over nothing. Something has to be behind it and like I said, she’s going to face the consequences.”

Stoneham police have not commented further on the matter, so it is not yet known whether a suspect has surrendered.

WCVB is withholding the name of DeTomasi’s daughter because it does not know for sure if she has yet been charged.

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