A 15-year-old boy riding his bicycle in Lowell was seriously injured when he was struck by a vehicle that may have intentionally hit him and fled the scene on Friday, authorities said.

The boy suffered internal and head injuries, and was flown by medical helicopter to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston for treatment, Lowell police Captain Timothy Crowley said.

He has since been transferred to Boston Children’s Hospital and was in serious but stable condition Friday night, Crowley said.

“It is believed that the occupants of the vehicle knew the victim,” he said.

The teen, who was not identified, was struck at about 2:30 p.m. on Lawrence Street in the Back Central neighborhood of Lowell, according to a statement released by Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan and Lowell Police Superintendent William Taylor.

The driver fled the scene, authorities said. Shortly before the incident, occupants of a white Chevrolet pick-up truck were seen speaking with the victim and a friend, who had been skateboarding alongside him.

At one point the discussion apparently turned heated and the friend ran away while the victim biked in the opposite direction, Crowley said.

The boy was riding on the sidewalk when the vehicle reappeared, moving in the opposite direction. Witnesses told police that the truck crossed over into the wrong lane in order to strike the teen, Crowley said.

Police were studying surveillance footage from a store on Lawrence Street to help identify any suspects.

Witnesses reported that there were two people inside the truck, according to Crowley.

When police arrived on the scene, only the front wheel and chain of the bike were visible.

The rest of the bike was located about one mile away on Bolt Street, apparently dragged there by the truck, Crowley said. The abandoned Chevy truck was found nearby.

No arrests had been made as of Friday night. State Police are assisting local police in the investigation.

Originally published in The Boston Globe on February 12, 2016.