SPRINGFIELD (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - Springfield police have arrested a man reportedly involved in the hit-and-run accident that killed a 19-year-old woman and seriously injured her 2-year-old daughter.
Michael Wingfield, 35, of Springfield, turned himself in to the Springfield Police Department around 9 a.m. on Monday. He is facing a multitude of charges, including motor vehicle homicide and using a motor vehicle without authority, for the July 27 accident that killed Ashley Ballester and seriously injured her daughter, Lailani Ballester.
According to police, Ballester was pregnant at the time of the accident, and her daughter remains hospitalized at the Baystate Medical Center.
Police responded to the motor vehicle accident at 658 Sumner Avenue around 8:30 p.m. on July 27.
Responding officers found Ballester in the middle of Sumner Avenue after being run over by two cars. Ballester's daughter was also found at the scene and had sustained serious injuries.
Lailani was in a stroller being pushed by her mother when they were stuck be a vehicle that was traveling in the outer lane closest to the curb.
The car fled the scene and went down a side street off of Sumner Avenue.
Following an investigation, officers found the owner of the vehicle that fled the scene on Kensington Avenue; however, the owner told police that he had not given Wingfield permission to use his vehicle.
The owner of the vehicle told police that Wingfield returned the keys following the accident and stated that he had just struck someone on Sumner Avenue. He then left in a cab.
Wingfield is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday afternoon in Springfield District Court.
