SOUTH PORTLAND — A Windham woman was injured by a hit-and-run driver Monday night when she stopped to check on another motorist whose vehicle had collided with a moose on Cummings Road near its intersection with Gannett Drive, police said.

Stephanie Smith was standing next to Michele McDonald’s Toyota Corolla when another vehicle clipped the open driver’s door and it hit Smith, sending her to the pavement, police said. McDonald said she had opened the door when Smith approached because the window wouldn’t operate after she struck the moose, caving in her windshield and causing extensive damage to the front of the vehicle on the driver’s side.

The third driver did not stop, McDonald said.

Natalie Smith, who had gotten out of the car with her mother, said her mother was conscious and alert when a South Portland ambulance crew prepared her for transport to Maine Medical Center. Natalie Smith wasn’t hurt.

McDonald, who is the Portland Press Herald photo editor, had just left work around 7:30 p.m. when she hit the moose after turning onto Cummings Road from Gannett Drive. She said she didn’t see the moose until it crashed into her car. The Smiths were behind McDonald on the two-lane road and saw the collision unfold.

They pulled over in front of McDonald’s Corolla and walked toward its driver’s side door to check on McDonald, who was calling a co-worker when Smith was hit.

Lt. Thomas Simonds said that none of the women could provide police with a description of the vehicle that struck Stephanie Smith. Police also were unable to locate the moose, which may have fled into a nearby wooded area.

McDonald’s car had to be towed from the scene.

Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com