A blind man from the North End said he is deeply shaken by the serious injuries suffered by a Boston police officer who was helping him cross the street on Thursday when the officer was struck by a vehicle.
Scott Hartmann credits the officer with saving his life in a notoriously busy and dangerous intersection at North Washington and Thatcher streets as he walked home from a grocery store with his guide dog, Dylan.
Around 12:40 p.m., the pair were trying to cross the street when the beeping sound of construction vehicles backing up confused Hartmann and his trusty black labrador.
Hartmann tried communicating with the driver that he had the walking signal. He learned later that an officer working a paid detail saw he needed help and ordered the construction driver to stop.
“Is it OK? Is it safe? What’s going on?’’ Hartmann asked the officer, who he initially thought was a good Samaritan. The officer told him he was cleared to proceed through the crosswalk.
“He was looking out for my safety,’’ said Hartmann, 41, a longtime resident of the North End.
Suddenly, Hartmann heard a large boom. He became frantic.
The back gate of a truck had swung open and hit the officer, knocking him unconscious.
“What just happened? Is everybody OK?’’ he recalled asking. “A woman said, ‘He’s not OK. He’s not breathing.’’’
When officers arrived on the scene, they found the officer lying in the middle of North Washington Street, according to a police report. Blood was streaked across his face.
A group of nursing students rushed to his side to keep him breathing, with one wrapping their sweater around him, Hartmann said. Other first responders provided aid, and the injured officer was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.
The officer, who has not been identified, remained hospitalized in serious condition on Friday, said Sergeant Detective John Boyle, a Boston police spokesperson.
The injuries are not life-threatening, Boyle said.
The operator of the commercial vehicle, owned by the Braintree-based Metro Equipment Corporation, told officers she was doing construction work for the city, according to the report. On Thursday, Boston police Deputy Superintendent Paul McLaughlin said it was too early to say whether the driver will face charges.
The officer had stopped traffic when he was struck by the rear of the vehicle, McLaughlin said.
Because of how busy the area is, Hartmann said he was fearful the officer was going to get run over.
“It’s a very dangerous intersection’’ and presents a daily safety issue, he said.
Drivers speed up Valenti Way, and “it’s almost like a major highway,’’ he said. “It’s unsafe for pedestrians, and it’s unsafe for police detailing traffic. The city needs to figure out a way to slow the traffic down.’’
Cars and parking seem to be prioritized in the North End, making much of the historic neighborhood “inaccessible for people with mobility devices,’’ he said.
The construction in the area of North Washington and Causeway streets has only made the intersection feel more unsafe, Hartmann said. “You can’t hear anything because of all the loud traffic. As a blind person, you’re relying on your ears, and you don’t get that all the time because you can’t hear. So it is really scary.’’
“If I didn’t have a guide dog, I wouldn’t even be able to cross that street,’’ he added
The officer “never expected a blind person to walk into his traffic detail in the middle of daytime,’’ he said.
“I just want to let him know that he saved my life,’’ Hartmann said. “He saw that there was someone who was in distress that might enter a dangerous situation, and he put all his focus on me, so he should be credited.’’
Emily Sweeney of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.
