Car Hits Pedestrian, Scooter on Mt. Auburn

A runaway car struck a pedestrian, a motor scooter and a traffic signal yesterday afternoon at the corner of Mt. Auburn and JFK Street when the driver apparently fell asleep. No serious injuries were reported.

Witnesses said a blue Chevy station wagon, traveling up JFK Street at about 15 mph, was approaching the intersection just after 4 p.m. when it veered to the left. A local woman, who requested anonymity, said the car did not appear to slow down as it struck a bystander near the curb.

The pedestrian, a middle-aged man, had jumped forward to avoid the car but was flipped into the air by a glancing blow from the vehicle, said a Harvard student who also spoke on the condition of anonymity. The man's elbow broke the windshield of the car on impact, but he was talking and walking after the accident without any visible injuries.

An ambulance took the victim, wearing a neck brace, to a local hospital for observation, said the Cambridge woman.

"I heard a swerve like a car making an unexpected turn," the student said. "I turned to see a thin man airborne. He jumped to get away, but he got hit in the back of the leg."

The driver of the car, who was not injured, told witnesses he had fallen asleep while delivering food for a local catering service. "The driver told me he was tired and he fell asleep," said the Harvard student.

The car also destroyed a blue Java motor scooter and knocked a traffic signal post several feet down the sidewalk. The Chevy continued into the Crimson Travel building, leaving paint chips on the building wall.

Police said they would not issue citations until they completed a fuller investigation.