Crime & Safety

Pedestrian Killed on Route 128 in Newton Identified as Malden Resident

The teen worked at the Honey Dew Donuts in the Newton rest area.

Updated 10:30 p.m.

Hopkins, who played basketball in the Malden Neighborhood Basketball League, was remembered by many on Twitter, including Malden Mayor Gary Christenson. 

"Malden mourns the passing of Reishaun Hopkins who sadly lost his life today," Christenson wrote. "I knew him via MNBL [the Malden Neighborhood Basketball League] and remember his smooth 3 point shot."

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Posted earlier:

The teen who was struck and killed on Route 128 in Newton this morning has been identified as Reishaun Michael Hopkins, 18, of Malden, according to a State Police press release.

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Hopkins worked at the Honey Dew Donuts located in the Newton rest area and was scheduled to work the day shift, State Police said.

Troopers responded to the scene around 6:30 a.m. Thursday after several 911 calls reporting a pedestrian struck just north of exit 21. On arrival, troopers found a man lying on the southbound side of Route 128, close to the median strip.

The State Police investigation indicates Hopkins was crossing the highway on foot when he was hit by a car on the southbound side of the highway. He was then thrown across the median onto the southbound side of the road, where he was hit by another vehicle.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, State Police said.

As of this afternoon, no charges have been filed in the accident.

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Following the accident, lanes on both the northbound and southbound side of the highway were shut down. Morning commuters dealt with slow-moving traffic that stretched roughly 15 miles.

The full press release from the Mass. State Police is included below:

This morning at 6:30 a.m., troopers from the State Police Barracks in
Framingham responded to several 911 calls for a pedestrian struck on
Route 95 in Newton.  On arrival troopers found a male lying on the
southbound side on Route 95, close to the median strip.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the victim was apparently
crossing the highway on foot when he was struck by a motor vehicle on
the northbound side of the highway, thrown across the median into the
southbound side, and struck again on that side of the highway. He was
determined to be deceased at the scene.

 The victim has since been identified as Reishaun Michael Hopkins, 18,
of Malden. Hopkins was employed by Honeydew Donuts located in the
Newton rest area and normally scheduled to work day shift.

As of this point, no charges have been filed. The first call reporting
the crash was received at 6:33 a.m. The location was Route 95 north of
Exit 21.

The investigation is being conducted by Troop H of the Massachusetts
State Police with the assistance of the State Police Collision
Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the State Police Crime Scene
Services Section.

No further information is being released at this time. Please do not
call the barracks directly.


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