NORTHAMPTON — Northampton Police arrested a New York driver early Monday afternoon after a hit-and-run crash with another vehicle in which he almost struck several people attending a weekly standout outside in front of the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Leeds.
Police said Matthew Caluneo, 30, of Valatie, New York, was driving a white Ford pickup truck at about 12:15 p.m. in front of the VA Medical Center at 421 North Main St. He moved into the breakdown lane to get around traffic, and in the process, his vehicle struck the right rear of a blue Volkswagen stopped at a stoplight, police said.
After the collision, police said Caluneo continued traveling down the breakdown lane and nearly struck several people gathered along the sidewalk for the standout.
“Multiple witnesses told officers they believed the driver was attempting to strike them with his vehicle and that they feared for their safety as they moved out of the vehicle’s path,” police said in a statement.
While officers were driving to the crash, dispatchers received numerous additional 911 calls reporting the same vehicle. Caluneo fled in his truck to Williamsburg, where he was arrested by police after officers found his truck stuck in the snow.
Caluneo faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and leaving the scene of property damage. Northampton Capt. Corey Robinson said Caluneo was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, but it has been delayed to an undetermined date.
Northampton Police later learned that the same vehicle had been involved in a hit-and-run crash in Chicopee shortly before the Northampton incident. That crash resulted in two individuals being transported to a hospital for treatment. The Chicopee incident remains under investigation by the Chicopee Police Department.