Malden Driver Hits, Kills Pedestrian on Route 1 in Saugus

A 30-year-old Malden man struck and killed a pedestrian Thursday night on Route 1 North in Saugus.

The driver, in a 2003 Nissan XTerra SUV, was not injured and no charges had been filed as of Friday morning, according to Massachusetts State Police. Police have not released his name.

The pedestrian was 55-year-old David C. Gartland of Cambridge. According to a preliminary investigation, Gartland was walking in the center lane of Route 1 North near the Ferns Motel in Saugus. He was transported to North Shore Medical Center in Lynn, where he was pronounced dead, shortly after the crash at about 8:40 p.m.

Gartland was unresponsive at the scene, police said.

A second man, who may have been walking with Gartland when he was struck, was located about 35 minutes after the crash further south on Route 1, near the Home Depot in Saugus. The man, a 45-year-old Palmer resident, was not injured but was taken to the hospital at his request to be with Gartland, police said.

The facts and circumstances of the crash, including why the victim was walking in the highway, remain under investigation by State Police. 

The entire northbound side of the highway was closed for approximately 40 minutes after the crash.