METHUEN — The car police believe was involved in a hit-and-run in Lowell, in which a 12-year-old boy was "left for dead" in a crosswalk, was recovered yesterday in a Methuen auto body shop.
The boy was in fair condition in a Boston hospital at the time police found the blue 2003 Acura at Best Body Shop, where the owner left it for a damage estimate.
Lowell police Lt. Tim Crowley said the blue Acura and another car were reported to have been drag racing at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, when they approached the intersection at Mammoth Road and the VFW Highway in Lowell.
The Acura is owned by a 45-year-old Methuen man, but his 17-year-old daughter had possession of the car Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Lowell police said no one had been arrested as of last night.
The left side of the car's plastic front bumper was broken and there was a large depression in the windshield next to the driver's side door post.
The victim, Kelvin Savanhmixay of Lowell, was in fair condition with internal injuries in the intensive care unit at Children's Hospital in Boston last night.
Witnesses told police the Acura and a black Honda passed them at high speed just before the intersection, and the blue car changed lanes.
A car had stopped to let the boy cross the street in the crosswalk and the Acura passed the stopped car on the left and struck him, hurling him 25 feet, Crowley said.
The Acura and the Honda sped away, but witnesses told police the Honda stopped some distance away and the driver leaned out the window to look at the boy before driving off.
The blue car did not stop.
Lowell police Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee told reporters both cars had run a red light before the boy was hit. He said the boy was essentially "left for dead" in the middle of the road.
The boy was taken to Lowell General Hospital and then airlifted to Children's Hospital in Boston.
Police were able to find the car because the daughter of the owner called Lawrence police about 4:16 p.m. Wednesday, to report the vehicle had been damaged while it was parked at 5 Bruce St., about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, while she was having her hair done at a salon at 101 Erving Ave., around the corner.
The 17-year-old Methuen girl told Officer Adam Goujon she discovered the damage to the Acura when she returned to it about 4:10 p.m.
Goujon remembered the report and the damage to the car when he heard a regional police radio broadcast seeking the whereabouts of the car, and relayed the information to a police dispatcher and told them to contact Lowell police.
Using the information contained in Goujon's report, police contacted the owner yesterday and were told the car was at a Mike's Body Shop on French Street in Methuen. But when Lawrence and Methuen police got together, they realized there was no Mike's Body Shop on French Street.
But Methuen officers who knew the area knew there was a Best Body Shop at 34 French St., which is owned by Michael Murray.
When police checked the shop, they found the car.
Crowley, who drove to the scene and worked with Lawrence and Methuen police, said they do not believe Murray was aware of how the car was damaged.
Murray told a reporter the car was brought to his shop Wednesday night.
"I was asked to write an estimate on it," Murray said. "I did that and then the police showed up."
He declined further comment.
Crowley said police are investigating to learn the identity of the driver.
