UMass Dartmouth to hold candlelight vigil for student killed by car on campus

DARTMOUTH, Mass. (WLNE) — The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth said it will be holding a candlelight vigil Monday for the freshman student who was hit and killed by a car on campus.

The incident happened at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday on Ring Road.

Police said 19-year-old Frankie Petillo Jr. was found lying in the road with serious injuries. He was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he died.

The driver of the gray Honda Accord, said the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, remained at the scene.

Kimberly Scott, the vice-chancellor for student affairs, said that on Monday, the college would honor Petillo and another student, who died unexpectedly in a separate incident, at 8 p.m. on the quad in front of the Claire T. Carney Library.

Friday morning, the campus was left rocked by the death of their classmate, who all echoed a similar message that Frankie was one of the best people they knew and a great student on campus. But still left shocked and frustrated as they grieve the loss of one of their classmates.

“The student body is upset,” said Zoe Lamountain, a Umass Dartmouth student who knew Petillo. “We don’t have any sidewalks, we don’t have the safety that we need. We have a couple of speed checks and police will sit out here, but students are whipping [by] my friend the other day almost got hit in this parking lot and nothing got done about it.”

The college will have additional open-hours counseling sessions Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the MacLean Campus Center reflection room.

They will have another session from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Library Grand reading room.

Scott said they would also hold grief and bereavement group sessions in the Counseling Center on April 13.