NEWBURYPORT — City Councilor Allison Heartquist yesterday said her husband was not behind the wheel of her truck when it was involved in a hit-and-run accident Friday night in Lawrence that injured a Methuen man.
Heartquist told police her husband, North Andover-based attorney Richard Heartquist, drove her white 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche to a Christmas gathering in Lawrence. She said the truck was taken while her husband was at the gathering.
According to Lawrence police, Michael Baglieri, 35, said he was driving a red 1995 Buick sedan on Merrimack Street around 11:30 p.m. Friday when the Avalanche pulled out of the Riverwalk Properties parking lot and crashed into him. Rescue crews took Baglieri to Lawrence General Hospital, the report said. He suffered a gash to his forehead and complained of leg pain.
The motorist who struck Baglieri's car fled the scene on foot following the collision, according to the report. Witnesses saw the suspect get out of the truck and run away toward the Merrimack River. An extensive search by police failed to locate the suspect.
When contacted by police about the accident, Allison Heartquist said she had spoken to her husband a few hours before and he told her he was planning on getting a ride home from the gathering, according to the police report.
When the officer told Heartquist that her truck was in an accident and the driver of her truck left the scene, she said, 'Oh no,'" the report says. The truck had not been reported stolen, Lawrence police Chief John Romero said.
Heartquist said yesterday she received word of the crash the next morning by Lawrence and Newburyport police.
"I am extremely concerned about the other driver because my vehicle was involved," Heartquist said.
Heartquist is serving her first term as Ward 1 councilor. She is also an Amesbury city employee, serving as executive assistant to Mayor Thatcher Kezer.
More than two days after the crash, Lawrence police have yet to file charges.
Romero said once police establish who was operating the vehicle, the motorist will face a charge of leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury.
"At the very least," Romero said.
The keys to the Avalanche were left in the ignition, and attached was a Latitude Sports Club membership card, the police report said. The report did not say who the card belonged to.
Baglieri said he saw the Avalanche that hit him from far away.
"There's no way this guy didn't see me coming," Baglieri said. "I was continuing on and he just pulled right out in front of me. I tried to avoid it, the crash, by going into the other side of traffic. He hit the gas and did something, and he smashed right into me."
A foreman for a tree service company who runs a bucket truck all day, Baglieri said he is unable to work and will likely feel the effects of the crash for a while. He said he has to wear a knee brace and was planning to visit an orthopedic surgeon.
"My head's all banged up. My back's killing me. I'm hurting," said Baglieri, the father of two children and two step-children ranging in age from 1 to 14. "My left knee is in really bad shape."
Baglieri said the suspect should "face the consequences."
"My sister can't believe I survived it," he said. "I could have been dead and this guy just takes off like that. It's not right."
Material from the Eagle Tribune was used in this report.
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