MILFORD COPS ARREST ONE IN HIT-RUN DEATH
A Milford woman was arrested yesterday in connection with a tragic Easter Sunday hit-and-run crash that claimed the life of a 4-year-old Framingham boy, police say.
Melissa Knight, 54, was nabbed about 2:30 p.m. by Milford cops investigating the death of Jonathan Loja, according to police Chief Thomas J. O’Loughlin.
Knight was apprehended at Lasell College in Newton, where she serves as coordinator of intergenerational programming, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Knight, who is expected to be arraigned in Milford District Court today, was ordered held on $100,000 bail and is facing charges including misleading a police investigation and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death, O’Loughlin said.
Police say Jonathan was struck about 5 p.m. after he wandered out onto Water Street from a family gathering while playing with a yo-yo.
A team of four police detectives working 18 hours a day was able to use surveillance video from businesses and homes in the area to narrow the list of possible vehicles down to a Chevrolet Traverse, O’Loughlin said.
After an image of the SUV from one of those videos was broadcast on the news, he said, Knight spoke voluntarily to detectives three days after the crash.
“She gave us information that was meant to deflect our attention elsewhere,” O’Loughlin said.
Detectives impounded her SUV after finding a dent on its hood in a public parking lot and began to gather other evidence, resulting in her arrest, he said.
Jonathan’s family could not be reached for comment last night. O’Loughlin said they were “immensely grateful” that investigators made an arrest.
“We want the family to know the level of commitment and concern that we had for this case,” he said in a statement. “This little boy was killed at such a young age, and the family is facing the tragedy of that loss.”