Billerica auto auction crash: At least three dead, nine injured after SUV hits crowd
At least three people were killed and nine others were injured Wednesday when an SUV that was being shown to prospective buyers at a Massachusetts auto auction all of a sudden accelerated and crashed into bystanders.
The crash happened around Ten:30 a.m. at LynnWay Auto Auction in Billerica, about twenty miles northwest of Boston, Fox twenty five reported.
Related Picture
One man and two women were killed in the crash, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said at a news conference. Nine people were hurt, including two with life-threatening injuries, she said. The driver wasn’t hospitalized, she said.
Investigators said an auction employee in his 70s was behind the wheel of the two thousand six Jeep Grand Cherokee when it evidently lurched out of control.
Witnesses say elderly man behind wheel of Jeep that slammed into group of people. was taken away in ambulance. Injuries & fatalities #wbz pic.twitter.com/NvKpt26ptW
Ryan said the preliminary investigation suggests the incident was a “tragic accident,” tho’ she stressed the probe is ongoing.
Massachusetts State Police investigators are working to reconstruct the accident, which happened while several hundred people were in the building.
Ryan did not release the name of the driver, a man in his 70’s who she said is an employee at LynnWay Auto. Only employees, Ryan said, are permitted to drive vehicles at auto deeds on site. The driver was not hospitalized after the incident.
Witnesses told Fox twenty five the driver had a medical emergency and shot through the building, only stopping when the Jeep crashed through a cement wall.
“He went through the door, went through the lane of people, and then through the building,” one witness told the station. “He was going prompt, he was going truly swift,” said the witness.
Another described the scene as a “war zone,” with many people left bloodied
Employee Woody Tuttle told WCVB-TV he heard tires screeching and witnessed the vehicle strike several people.
Tuttle told the station: “(The driver) avoided the cars and went on to hit the people who were standing inbetween the cars.”
Car dealer Fredrick Kyazze said he and a colleague had just moved out of the path of the SUV minutes before it tore through the building.
“We heard a bang from where we just came from,” Kyazze said. “I thought most likely the building collapsed or something like that. Then we ran back to see what was going on and . we just spotted people lounging on the floor.”
Emergency personnel were quick to react to the scene because four police officers and a firefighter are routinely stationed at the auction site because of the large crowds it draws every Wednesday, Billerica Police Chief Daniel Rosa said. Ambulances from several surrounding towns responded.
Pictures from TV helicopters showcased a vehicle covered in debris. Medics wheeled people out of the building on gurneys.
In 2015, an SUV driven by an elderly man hurtled through an auto auction in the Boston suburb of Framingham, striking other cars, patrons and a cinder block wall and injuring eight people. No charges were filed.
Fox News’ Cristina Corbin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Billerica auto auction crash: At least three dead, nine injured after SUV hits crowd, Fox News
Billerica auto auction crash: At least three dead, nine injured after SUV hits crowd
At least three people were killed and nine others were injured Wednesday when an SUV that was being shown to prospective buyers at a Massachusetts auto auction all of a sudden accelerated and crashed into bystanders.
The crash happened around Ten:30 a.m. at LynnWay Auto Auction in Billerica, about twenty miles northwest of Boston, Fox twenty five reported.
Related Photo
One man and two women were killed in the crash, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said at a news conference. Nine people were hurt, including two with life-threatening injuries, she said. The driver wasn’t hospitalized, she said.
Investigators said an auction employee in his 70s was behind the wheel of the two thousand six Jeep Grand Cherokee when it evidently lurched out of control.
Witnesses say elderly man behind wheel of Jeep that slammed into group of people. was taken away in ambulance. Injuries & fatalities #wbz pic.twitter.com/NvKpt26ptW
Ryan said the preliminary investigation suggests the incident was a “tragic accident,” however she stressed the probe is ongoing.
Massachusetts State Police investigators are working to reconstruct the accident, which happened while several hundred people were in the building.
Ryan did not release the name of the driver, a man in his 70’s who she said is an employee at LynnWay Auto. Only employees, Ryan said, are permitted to drive vehicles at auto deeds on site. The driver was not hospitalized after the incident.
Witnesses told Fox twenty five the driver had a medical emergency and shot through the building, only stopping when the Jeep crashed through a cement wall.
“He went through the door, went through the lane of people, and then through the building,” one witness told the station. “He was going rapid, he was going truly swift,” said the witness.
Another described the scene as a “war zone,” with many people left bloodied
Employee Woody Tuttle told WCVB-TV he heard tires screeching and witnessed the vehicle strike several people.
Tuttle told the station: “(The driver) avoided the cars and went on to hit the people who were standing inbetween the cars.”
Car dealer Fredrick Kyazze said he and a colleague had just moved out of the path of the SUV minutes before it tore through the building.
“We heard a bang from where we just came from,” Kyazze said. “I thought very likely the building collapsed or something like that. Then we ran back to see what was going on and . we just witnessed people lounging on the floor.”
Emergency personnel were quick to react to the scene because four police officers and a firefighter are routinely stationed at the auction site because of the large crowds it draws every Wednesday, Billerica Police Chief Daniel Rosa said. Ambulances from several surrounding towns responded.
Photos from TV helicopters demonstrated a vehicle covered in debris. Medics wheeled people out of the building on gurneys.
In 2015, an SUV driven by an elderly man hurtled through an auto auction in the Boston suburb of Framingham, striking other cars, patrons and a cinder block wall and injuring eight people. No charges were filed.
Fox News’ Cristina Corbin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Billerica auto auction crash: At least three dead, nine injured after SUV hits crowd, Fox News
Billerica auto auction crash: At least three dead, nine injured after SUV hits crowd
At least three people were killed and nine others were injured Wednesday when an SUV that was being shown to prospective buyers at a Massachusetts auto auction all of a sudden accelerated and crashed into bystanders.
The crash happened around Ten:30 a.m. at LynnWay Auto Auction in Billerica, about twenty miles northwest of Boston, Fox twenty five reported.
Related Picture
One man and two women were killed in the crash, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said at a news conference. Nine people were hurt, including two with life-threatening injuries, she said. The driver wasn’t hospitalized, she said.
Investigators said an auction employee in his 70s was behind the wheel of the two thousand six Jeep Grand Cherokee when it evidently lurched out of control.
Witnesses say elderly man behind wheel of Jeep that slammed into group of people. was taken away in ambulance. Injuries & fatalities #wbz pic.twitter.com/NvKpt26ptW
Ryan said the preliminary investigation suggests the incident was a “tragic accident,” however she stressed the probe is ongoing.
Massachusetts State Police investigators are working to reconstruct the accident, which happened while several hundred people were in the building.
Ryan did not release the name of the driver, a man in his 70’s who she said is an employee at LynnWay Auto. Only employees, Ryan said, are permitted to drive vehicles at auto deeds on site. The driver was not hospitalized after the incident.
Witnesses told Fox twenty five the driver had a medical emergency and shot through the building, only stopping when the Jeep crashed through a cement wall.
“He went through the door, went through the lane of people, and then through the building,” one witness told the station. “He was going prompt, he was going indeed swift,” said the witness.
Another described the scene as a “war zone,” with many people left bloodied
Employee Woody Tuttle told WCVB-TV he heard tires screeching and eyed the vehicle strike several people.
Tuttle told the station: “(The driver) avoided the cars and went on to hit the people who were standing inbetween the cars.”
Car dealer Fredrick Kyazze said he and a colleague had just moved out of the path of the SUV minutes before it tore through the building.
“We heard a bang from where we just came from,” Kyazze said. “I thought very likely the building collapsed or something like that. Then we ran back to see what was going on and . we just eyed people lounging on the floor.”
Emergency personnel were quick to react to the scene because four police officers and a firefighter are routinely stationed at the auction site because of the large crowds it draws every Wednesday, Billerica Police Chief Daniel Rosa said. Ambulances from several surrounding towns responded.
Pictures from TV helicopters displayed a vehicle covered in debris. Medics wheeled people out of the building on gurneys.
In 2015, an SUV driven by an elderly man hurtled through an auto auction in the Boston suburb of Framingham, striking other cars, patrons and a cinder block wall and injuring eight people. No charges were filed.
Fox News’ Cristina Corbin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.