By JON BAKER

SEEKONK  —  A 17-year-old male pedestrian suffered various head and body injuries after being struck by a vehicle on Elm Street Sunday.

Apparently, the boy had been walking on the right side of the somewhat wooded, residential roadway — which links Taunton Avenue (Route 44) and Lincoln Street — when a car operated by a 78-year-old woman hit him at 8:37 p.m., Sunday.
According to Police Chief Ronald Charron, the male — Nicholas Bitsis of Elm Street — had sustained non-life threatening injuries, and was taken to Rhode Island Hospital by Seekonk Rescue 3 personnel. He was listed in stable condition as of Monday morning. As a precaution, the driver of the Toyota Corolla, Margaret Whitaker of nearby Lincoln Street, was transported to the same hospital by the East Providence Rescue 2 unit. Her injuries were unknown.
When the call came in, dispatch sent officers in three cruisers — as well as fire department and rescue personnel — to the area of 165 Elm St., and immediately attended to the boy, who landed on the lawn of the residence at 159 Elm St., a press release indicated.
Apparently, Whitaker had been driving east on Elm Street (toward County Street) when the car struck the teen, then hit a nearby utility pole, causing heavy front-end damage with air-bag deployment.
“It sustained a lot of right front damage, but I’m not sure if it’s totaled,” Charron said Monday afternoon. “The insurance people will have to decide that.”
Police closed Elm Street to traffic for about three hours to facilitate rescue and investigation efforts. Patrolman Gerard LaFleur was the primary investigator, though he was assisted by other Seekonk Police officers and detectives; and Massachusetts State Police Crash Reconstruction and Crime Scene Services teams.
The investigation as to the cause and contributing factors of the incident is still pending, and no charges had been filed as of late afternoon Monday.