Teacher of Autistic Children Killed in Hit-and-Run
Eric Lum was allegedly high on heroin when his SUV hit Alison Regan's car.
Aug. 11, 2009 -- A Randolph, Mass. man allegedly high on heroin, is accused of hitting a special-needs teacher with his car and then fleeing the scene. The teacher was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Eric Lum, 28, was arraigned Monday and held on a $100,000 bail on a multitude of charges, reports ABC News affiliate WCVB in Boston. He has pleaded not guilty to motor vehicle homicide, operating under the influence of drugs and larceny of a motor vehicle in the death of Alison Regan, a 25-year-old teacher who worked with autistic children.
Follow This Story at ABC News affiliate WCVB in Boston
Police say Lum's was driving his mother's Ford Explorer in Milton, Mass. on Sunday night when he crossed over the center line and hit Regan's Oldsmobile head-on.
Regan was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Lum, who was allegedly high on heroin while behind the wheel, fled into the woods nearby and contacted his mother to come get him.
Police report finding drug paraphernalia in the front seat of Lum's SUV.
Prosecutors cite Lum's lengthy criminal record and the fact that he had a suspended license at the time of the crash.
"(His record) is eight pages long. He has 21 contacts with the criminal justice system, 15 defaults, seven violations of probation. He has two prior convictions for leaving the scene and six convictions for driving with a suspended license," prosecutor Emily Nesson said.
Heroin Addiction Leads to Heartbreak
For Lum's parents, this is the latest heartbreak that has resulted from their son's heroin addiction.
"We got him help before. He seemed to be on the road to recovery," Lum's father Ronald Lum told WCVB. "It is a lapse he has gone through with horrendous results."
Boston Higashi School, where Regan worked, issued a statement Monday: "Alison brought beauty, kindness, compassion, positive energy and a special brightness to one and all. She will be dearly missed and lovingly remembered most especially by her students," the school said in a statement."
"She was a real special kid," her father Richard Regan told the Boston Globe. "I wouldn't have been able to do the things she did."
Regan would have turned 26 this Friday.
Lum's father said he did not want to detract attention from the victim's family. "It's about them," he said. "It's just horrible. We feel so bad. We wish we could take it back."