METHUEN — Scott Callahan had several friends who are veterans and he traditionally visited them at the VFW on Christmas Eve.
It was after one such visit Thursday night that Callahan was walking home to his apartment nearby when he was struck and killed by a car driven by a man later charged with drunken driving, police said.
Police said rescue workers found Callahan, 51, of 189 Broadway, lying in the road on Union Street about 11:43 p.m. A green Toyota Tercel was found nearby crashed into a utility pole. Police said the driver of the Tercel fled on foot.
Police early yesterday arrested the man they believe drove the Tercel, Arturo Cruz Jr., 29, of 6 Kenwood Park, Springfield. No additional details about the investigation were released.
Callahan was taken to Holy Family Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"Part of my heart is gone," Callahan's fiancee, Jackie Gannon, said last night.
Gannon said Callahan was walking home from the Arnold Greenwood VFW Post 8349 at 26 River St., which is less than a half mile from their apartment.
Although Callahan wasn't a veteran himself, he made it a point to visit his buddies at the VFW each Christmas Eve, especially to see those who don't have families, Gannon said.
Police and firefighters went to the intersection of Union and Edmond streets for a report of a car accident and found Callahan lying on the side of the road next to a stretch of unshoveled sidewalk.
"He walks all the time up and down the street," Melissa Morkeski, who lives across the street from the intersection, said of Callahan.
Morkeski said neighbors generally do a good job of keeping sidewalks clear in the winter. The area where Callahan was struck, she said, was not cleared due to the fact the homeowners had been away.
Morkeski said her son heard the whine of an engine around the time of the crash. When she looked out to the street she saw the Tercel crashed into a utility pole with someone who appeared to be the driver standing by it.
"He was disoriented, holding his head for about four minutes, then he crossed the street and took off down the road," Morkeski said. "I never even knew there was a body until the police lights lit it up."
Cruz is charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death, operating under the influence of alcohol and operating after a license revocation, according to Sgt. James Gunter. Cruz was being held at the county jail in Middleton on $50,000 cash bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.
Callahan grew up in Lowell and has two daughters who live in that city, as well as a grandchild. He worked as a loader at the Shaw's warehouse in Methuen and was like a grandfather to Gannon's nine grandchildren. They called him "Papa," said Gannon, who had been with him for 16 years.
"He's basically the only grandpa they knew," she said.
Callahan donated to the United Way and was a Boston Bruins fan who enjoyed playing ice hockey with his friends, Gannon said.
"He was pretty good at it, too," she said.
Morkeski said there had been a white pickup truck parked where the Tercel crashed and that the pickup appeared to have minor damage and been pushed two houses down the street. Orange spray paint could be seen yesterday marking the resting places of both vehicles.
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