Sunderland man dies after he was hit by car near UMass highway exit

A 33-year-old Sunderland man died after he was hit by a car on Route 116 in Hadley early Saturday morning, according to authorities.

According to a press release from the office of Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan, the unidentified man was walking along the edge of the southbound side of the divided highway when he was hit by a car driven by an unidentified 29-year-old Deerfield woman.

The man was hit near the highway’s exit headed to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, according to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, from the state’s Department of Transportation, which also warned people just after 6:30 a.m. that multiple highway lanes were closed and suggested drivers find another route.

The driver called police herself. The Hadley police officers, State Police attached to Sullivan’s office and other emergency personnel responded to the scene, according to the release.

The man was unresponsive when help arrived so emergency responders immediately began medical care, the release said. The man was taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, where he died, the DA’s office said.

The press release did not indicate if any criminal charges may be filed but said the Hadley Police Department, State Police attached to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, state troopers assigned to the Crime Scene Services Collision Analysis and Collision Analysis and Reconstruction sections and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are investigating the circumstances of the crash, the DA’s office said.