WESTFIELD – A city resident reported to police Sunday that his son was accosted by the driver of a red pickup truck while the boy was riding his bike.
The Frederick Street resident told a police dispatcher at 12:24 p.m. Sunday that his son told him that while he was riding on Casimir Street on his way home the driver of a red Ford F-150 pickup truck with scratches on the tailgate stopped him and asked if the boy wanted a ride home.
Officer Patrick Lusteg responded and searched the area without finding a tuck which fit the description before going to Casimir Street to speak with the caller and his son.
The boy told Lusteg that the operator of the older model Ford F-150 had approached him and asked if he needed a ride home. The boy said that the man left when he said “No” but added that, as the truck pulled away, it paused and he saw in the truck’s side mirror that the man was giving him “a dirty look.”
He described the driver as an older man with a white beard who was wearing a black hat with white lettering. The boy also said the man was “most likely bald”.
Several hours later, at 5:43 p.m., another caller reported a possible sighting of a red truck in the area of Casimir Street.
Officer Gary Hagar investigated the report but did not find a relevant truck in the area.
He reports that he did speak with a group of pedestrians and was told that an older reddish pickup truck believed to be a Ford had been seen in the area about 15 minutes earlier. A child in the group said that the operator was a man with a white beard who said “Hey” to them but did not stop.
Capt. Michael McCabe said that a further search of the area did not reveal the truck and said that concern about children’s safety has been heightened by a report in Chicopee last month about the driver of a red pickup truck who was offering candy to children in the area.
