Witness video shows immediate aftermath after box truck crashes in Boston, injuring several
Updated: 4:50 PM EDT Apr 1, 2025
SCENE. EMILY MARIA SHAYNA. THIS IS THE HEART OF CHINATOWN. THIS WAS HAPPENING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT HERE WERE WALKING AROUND, SOME STOPPING INTO RESTAURANTS, GRABBING LUNCH WHEN THAT TRUCK CAME BARRELING DOWN THE STREET, CRASHING RIGHT INTO THE BUILDING YOU SEE HERE BEHIND ME. AND RIGHT NOW YOU CAN SEE CREWS FROM THE POWER COMPANY UP IN THAT BUCKET TRUCK WORKING ON THE POWER POLE, THAT LIGHT POST THAT THE TRUCK CAME CRASHING INTO. THE TRUCK ON ITS SIDE, THE BACK OF IT OPEN WIDE OPEN. YOU CAN SEE DEBRIS ALL OVER THE GROUND. BROKEN GLASS, TWISTED METAL JUST LAYING THERE. AS POLICE BEGIN TO INVESTIGATE WHAT HAPPENED, THEY HAVE KNEELAND STREET AND ALMOST ALL OF THE SIDE STREETS LEADING UP HERE BLOCKED OFF AS THEY WORK. SOME SAY THE CRASH SOUNDED LIKE AN EXPLOSION, OTHERS SAYING THEY SAW PEOPLE LAYING ON THE GROUND AS BYSTANDERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS RUSHED TO HELP. POLICE SAY A HALF DOZEN PEOPLE WERE HURT, INCLUDING TWO WHO WERE INSIDE THE RAMEN RESTAURANT THAT WAS HIT. FOUR, INCLUDING THE DRIVER, WERE RUSHED TO NEARBY HOSPITALS, WHILE TWO WERE TREATED AT THE SCENE. INVESTIGATORS SAY ONE PERSON HAS LIFE THREATENING INJURIES WHILE THE DRIVER IS EXPECTED TO SURVIVE. THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND THE BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER BOTH VERY CLEAR TO SAY THEY BELIEVE THIS CRASH WAS NOT INTENTIONAL. MULTIPLE TIMES DESCRIBING IT AS, QUOTE, A TRAGIC ACCIDENT. THIS EASILY COULD HAVE BEEN A FAR WORSE CIRCUMSTANCE, GIVEN THE TIME OF DAY, AND HOW MANY PEOPLE TEND TO BE IN THIS AREA AT THE TIME. AND SO IN MANY WAYS, WE’RE FORTUNATE. BUT WE CONTINUE TO KEEP THOSE WHO ARE INJURED IN, PARTICULARLY THE PERSON IN CRITICAL CONDITION IN OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS. OTHER PEOPLE THAT WAS WALKING NOTICED THE SITUATION, AND THEY ALL WENT FOR HELP AND TRIED TO HELP. THE GUY THAT WAS ON THE GROUND THAT WAS HIT ALSO, AND THERE WAS SOMEONE STUCK UNDER THE TRUCK. ALSO, THE BACK OF THE TRUCK. CELL PHONE VIDEO SHOWING THE MOMENTS FIRST RESPONDERS RUSHED TO. SOME OF THOSE HURT RUSHING SOME OF THOSE HURT ON STRETCHERS INTO WAITING AMBULANCES. WITNESSES SAY THE DRIVER OF THE TRUCK HIT MULTIPLE LIGHT POLES BEFORE CRASHING INTO THE BUILDING. NOW TAKING YOU BACK OUT LIVE HERE. YOU’RE LOOKING AT KNEELAND STREET AND HARRISON AVENUE AS CREWS WORK ON THAT TRUCK RIGHT THERE. WE’VE BEEN WATCHING THE POWER COMPANIES. THEY WERE LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE SAWING AWAY AT SOME OF THAT METAL LIGHT POSTS, WORKING TO GET THAT DOWN. WE KNOW THE BUILDING INSPECTOR WILL HAVE TO COME OUT HERE AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE BUILDING, MAKE SURE IT’S SAFE FOR PEOPLE TO GO INSIDE. BUT POLICE AGAIN TELLING US THIS IS VERY EARLY IN THEIR INVESTIGATION. THERE’S A LOT OF WORK FOR THEM TO DO A LOT OF THINGS FOR THEM TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT HOW THIS HAPPENED, WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE DRIVER. WE KNOW THAT THEY’RE TALKING TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT HAVE SEEN THIS CRASH HAPPENED. THEY’RE ALSO GOING AROUND BUSINESS TO BUSINESS, BUILDING TO BUILDING, GOING THROUGH ALL OF THE SECURITY CAMERAS, HOPING TO FIND ANY SURVEILLANCE VIDEO THAT WILL HELP THEM WITH THEIR INVESTIGATION. MARIA. SHAYNA. I’LL TAKE IT. EMILY, IT IS INTERESTING ALL THESE HOURS LATER THAT THAT IS STILL A VERY ACTIVE SCENE AND WORTH REPEATING. THIS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE INTENTIONAL, CORRECT? ABSOLUTELY. THAT WAS MADE VERY CLEAR DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE THAT WE WERE LISTENING INTO JUST A LITTLE WHILE AGO. WE HEARD FROM THE BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER, AS WELL AS THE SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND MAYOR MICHELLE WU. ALL THREE OF THEM VERY INTENTIONAL TO TELL US THAT THIS APPEARS TO BE A TRAGIC ACCIDENT, SAYING THAT THERE IS NO REASON FOR THEM TO BELIEVE THAT THIS CRASH THAT HAPPENED HERE BEHIND ME WAS INTENTIONAL. AGAIN, THEY BELIEVE IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. WE KNOW THAT INVESTIGATORS ARE EXPECTED TO BE OUT HERE FOR A WHILE. THEY ARE GOING TO GO PIECE BY PIECE, FRAME BY FRAME, THROUGH ANY VIDEO. THEY ARE ABLE TO FIND, HOPING TO PIECE TOGETHER EVERY SINGLE SECOND LEADING UP TO THIS CRASH. BUT AGAIN, IT IS A SCARY SCENE OUT HERE. THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, RIGHT IN THE LUNCH HOUR. THIS IS THE HEART OF CHINATOWN, AND WHEN A CRASH LIKE THIS HAPPENS, YOU TEND TO THINK SOME OF THE WORST CASE SCENARIOS. BUT AGAIN, EVERYONE OUT HERE TODAY POLICE, LAW ENFORCEMENT, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY TELLING US THIS APPEARS TO BE A TRAGIC
Witness video shows immediate aftermath after box truck crashes in Boston, injuring several
Updated: 4:50 PM EDT Apr 1, 2025
Several people were injured in downtown Boston on Tuesday after being hit by a box truck that jumped the curb before crashing onto its side during the busy lunch hour, Boston fire said.The incident happened at about 12:48 p.m. on Kneeland Street near Harrison Avenue and Chinatown, Boston police said. Surveillance video from a nearby store shows the truck, a yellow Penske rental, driving down Kneeland Street in the seconds before the truck jumped the sidewalk, injuring several people, including the driver.Witnesses told NewsCenter 5 that the truck was driving at a high rate of speed immediately before the crash.Witness video from a Zoe’s Hair Studio employee showed the truck overturned, with paramedics and emergency crews providing aid to the truck driver, who was pinned in the truck’s cab.Another victim was seen in the street receiving help from bystanders as more EMT personnel arrived to assist.A traffic light and fire hydrant, apparently hit by the truck in the crash, were among the debris that littered the sidewalk in the aftermath.The crash happened during lunchtime in an area known for its restaurants and high foot traffic.Video from inside one of the nearby restaurants, the Tora Japanese Restaurant, showed a blown-out front window with shards of glass scattered throughout the eatery, covering the floor, tables and chairs. According to Boston EMS, six people, including the driver, were injured in the crash. Three were taken to Tufts Medical Center, with one in critical condition, another in fair condition, and a third in good condition. Another victim was taken to Mass. General. “Our thoughts are with those who have been injured,” Penske wrote in a statement following the crash. “Based on our records, the truck involved was out on rent to a commercial trucking company.”
BOSTON —Several people were injured in downtown Boston on Tuesday after being hit by a box truck that jumped the curb before crashing onto its side during the busy lunch hour, Boston fire said.
The incident happened at about 12:48 p.m. on Kneeland Street near Harrison Avenue and Chinatown, Boston police said.
Surveillance video from a nearby store shows the truck, a yellow Penske rental, driving down Kneeland Street in the seconds before the truck jumped the sidewalk, injuring several people, including the driver.
Witnesses told NewsCenter 5 that the truck was driving at a high rate of speed immediately before the crash.
Witness video from a Zoe’s Hair Studio employee showed the truck overturned, with paramedics and emergency crews providing aid to the truck driver, who was pinned in the truck’s cab.
Another victim was seen in the street receiving help from bystanders as more EMT personnel arrived to assist.
A traffic light and fire hydrant, apparently hit by the truck in the crash, were among the debris that littered the sidewalk in the aftermath.
The crash happened during lunchtime in an area known for its restaurants and high foot traffic.
Video from inside one of the nearby restaurants, the Tora Japanese Restaurant, showed a blown-out front window with shards of glass scattered throughout the eatery, covering the floor, tables and chairs.
According to Boston EMS, six people, including the driver, were injured in the crash. Three were taken to Tufts Medical Center, with one in critical condition, another in fair condition, and a third in good condition. Another victim was taken to Mass. General.
“Our thoughts are with those who have been injured,” Penske wrote in a statement following the crash. “Based on our records, the truck involved was out on rent to a commercial trucking company.”
