PELHAM – A 71-year-old man remained in serious condition at a Boston area hospital on Monday, March 24, a day after a teenage driver hit him as he walked down Melody Lane with his wife.

John Walton-Deamato of 10 Hillcrest Lane was airlifted to Boston Medical Center’s intensive care unit after the Sunday evening accident, which is under investigation.

Tayte Bellerose, 16, was driving a 2000 Toyota Avalon west on Melody Lane on Sunday night, according to police, when he struck Deamato from behind. Both Bellerose and Deamato’s wife were uninjured, police said.

Police are currently trying to assess the vehicle’s speed prior to the incident, though alcohol has been ruled out as a factor, Pelham police Lt. Gary Fisher said.

That particular neighborhood has been the target of additional officer patrols in the past, according to Fisher, who said residents have been vocal with reporting traffic violations.

“It’s a square block of intertwining roads, and we have had complaints of speed, running of stop signs and such in the past,” he said.

Without knowing the accident’s cause, residents said it’s relatively common to see drivers rushing up and down the dead-end street that connects Hillcrest Lane and Westview Terrace near the Methuen border.

“They come screeching down there and they don’t even stop at the stop sign,” said William Fox who has lived at 4 Melody Lane for 35 years.

“It’s been off and on,” said Dean Gordon, 48, who lives two houses down from where the accident occurred at 7 Melody Lane. “We actually have complained a couple times a few years back.”

Gordon, a 45-year resident of the neighborhood, said some younger residents have speeded through the neighborhood in the past, but it had been addressed and resolved on an individual basis.

“We were having an issue with someone who lived on the street. It’s sort of been resolved, and I don’t think he lives here anymore, but it really hasn’t been that bad the past couple of years,” he said.

Although police were called to address that individual issue, Gordon said there’s been no trouble since.

“It’s a quiet street. It’s not a cut through or anything,” he said. “It’s pretty much just people who live here.”