A RUNNER HIT BY A TRUCK. PLEASE BECAREFUL OUT THERE!

ATKINSON, N.H. — One of the area's most accomplished runners is still in critical condition after being hit by a truck near his Atkinson house Wednesday night.

Mark Kimball, 49, was running on East Road, about a quarter-mile from his house, when he was struck by the back end of a black Chevy pickup truck, Lt. William Baldwin said.

Kimball was rushed to Lawrence General Hospital and was still in critical condition yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters had originally called for a medical helicopter to take him to a Boston area hospital, but it couldn't land because of the weather, Baldwin said.

Alan Halpern, Kimball's track coach at Timberlane Regional High School in the late 1970s, said he saw Kimball just four days before the accident at a track meet at the University of New Hampshire with Kimball's brother, Dean.

"I'm just shaking about the whole thing," Halpern said yesterday.

Kimball is one of the fastest runners to ever graduate from Timberlane. His 9:10.9 two-mile in 1978 is still the fourth fastest for a local high-school boy.

He was a high-school All-American in 1978 and a Division 1 All-American in cross country in 1981 while a student at Boston University. He graduated in 1983 from Boston University.

Halpern said Kimball was a phenomenal runner who always did what he was asked.

"Any coach would love to have a kid like that," Halpern said.

The area where Kimball was struck on East Road is well-traveled with little to no shoulder.

The black pickup truck, driven by William Melanson, 40, of Hampstead, was traveling north when his vehicle was hit by a white Ford Thunderbird driven by Richard Testa, 27, of Milford. Testa was heading south when he crossed the yellow line and struck Melanson's truck, Baldwin said.

Police are investigating the crash and may file criminal charges, Baldwin said.

Anyone with information on the crash should call the Atkinson Police Department at 362-4001."

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