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MEDFORD, Massachusetts — A boy accused of hitting three people with a car in Medford Sunday, killing 1 and leaving 2 hospitalized, was under the influence of a drug at the time of the crash, authorities said. The 17-year-old now faces a DUI charge in court.

Authorities have not released the boy’s name. He was driving in the area of Spring and Emerald streets about 4:49 p.m. Then, he struck and killed Judith Moses, 64, of Brookline, according to a spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan’s Office.

A preliminary investigation indicates the boy kept driving down Spring Street and hit two more people and a dog before slamming into a Citizens Bank on Yeoman’s Avenue, officials said. Those two people — a 27-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman — went to the hospital with serious injuries. Tragically, their dog died in the collision.

An expert determined the 17-year-old deserved a DUI.

A drug recognition expert who responded to the scene determined the driver was under the influence of a drug, police said.

He was driving with a learner’s permit and had not yet obtained a driver’s license. Situations like this one are part of the reason that such rules exist. Teenagers simply have worse judgment than legal adults do, at least on an average basis. This boy’s poor judgment cost one person their life and injured two others significantly.

The suspect is expected to be arraigned Monday in Cambridge Juvenile Court. He will likely face some serious charges given the severity of the incident. However, the legal system may go slightly easy on him due to his young age. We hope that the law chooses to take this boy’s criminal acts as seriously as possible.

The incident is being investigated by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, also by the Medford police and members of the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.