WESTFIELD – A Pittsfield woman suffered serious injuries Friday evening when she was apparently struck by a vehicle while hitchhiking on the Massachusetts Turnpike.
State police report that numerous calls were received at the Northampton dispatch facility reporting that a person dressed in dark clothing was hitchhiking in the westbound lane of the pike near the North Road overpass in Blandford.
Troopers were dispatched from the Westfield barracks and found a woman lying against the guardrail with serious injuries, apparently the result of an impact with an unidentified vehicle.
A Westfield Fire Department ambulance and engine responded to the scene at the 22 mile marker and a decision was made to evacuate the woman by ambulance after it was determined that a helicopter would take too long to reach the scene of the crash.
The woman, whose injuries were described as serious by State Police, was transported Baystate Medical Center for treatment.
Unconfirmed reports list her condition at the hospital as critical.
State police report that the preliminary results of their investigation suggest that the woman had been a passenger in a vehicle traveling on the turnpike who exited that vehicle for an unknown reason.
Troopers ask that any person with knowledge of the incident call the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Westfield at 413-572-3100.
