Wareham woman remains in serious condition following hit and run

Jul 25, 2013

A 40-year-old Wareham woman suffered serious injuries and a Wareham man was arrested after a hit-and-run accident on County Road in Marion on Sunday.

As of Thursday morning, the victim — Paula McDarby of County Road — was remained in serious condition at Rhode Island Hospital.

David Pajunen II, 22, is charged with leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury and marked lanes violation, after an incident at approximately 4 p.m. on County Road in Marion.

McDarby was walking two dogs when she was struck, according to police reports. One dog was killed. Animal Control transported the other dog to a local veterinarian.

Marion Fire and Wareham EMS treated the woman at the scene. She was transported to Tobey Hospital and later flown to Rhode Island Hospital via Med-Flight.

Pajunen is being held at the Plymouth County House of Correction in lieu of $5,000 cash bail following his arraignment at Wareham District Court on Monday.

Pajunen allegedly left the scene after the accident, but was tracked down approximately five hours later after police received information about the vehicle involved in the crash. Police went to a residence on County Road and located the vehicle and operator involved in the crash, according to police reports.

According to reports filed by the Marion Police Department in Wareham District Court, police arrived at 202 County Road in West Wareham at approximately 9:40 p.m.  to follow up on the crash.

Upon arriving, police were greeted by a woman in the driveway who said she was Pajunen's aunt and informed them that her nephew had told her and other family members that he had hit a woman while driving his car and wanted to turn himself in to the police, according to court documents.

Pajunen's father, David Pajunen, then came outside and told the officers that he would be bringing his son to the police station to turn himself in. Police told him that they would be placing his son under arrest, at which point he and Pajunen's aunt expressed concern about his emotional state, saying he was very upset and concerned about the women, according to court documents.

According to police, Pajunen sobbed uncontrollably as he was handcuffed and searched for weapons and contraband, and repeatedly said that he was very sorry.

Pajunen was read his rights, and on the ride to the police station, told the officer that the victim stepped into the path of his vehicle and he was sorry he hadn't stopped, according to police reports.

Pajunen kept asking about the victim's condition, becoming increasingly distressed until he informed the officer that he was having trouble breathing, according to court documents.

The officer called an ambulance and administered oxygen to Pajunen while waiting for it to arrive. Marion EMS transported Pajunen to Tobey Hospital, and he continued to talk about the accident on the way, telling paramedics he had nowhere to go when she stepped into the path of his car, panicked, and fled the scene, according to police reports.

At the hospital, Pajunen was treated for anxiety and released into the custody of Marion Police at approximately 12 a.m. on Monday.

Police are asking witnesses or anyone with further information about the incident to call 508-748-1212. The accident is under investigation by Sgt. Jeffrey Tripp, the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, and Crime Scene Services.