HINGHAM – A person has died after an SUV crashed into an Apple Store in Hingham on Monday morning. Nineteen people were injured, several with life-threatening and limb-threatening injuries.
A criminal investigation has been opened against the driver of the Toyota 4Runner. Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz told reporters the driver, who has not been identified, was with officers and was not immediately hospitalized after the accident. According Sources I-Teamthe driver is a 53-year-old man from Massachusetts.
“This morning was an unthinkable morning and people are trying to come through and figure out what happened. This investigation is active and ongoing,” Cruz said.
The deceased man has been identified as Kevin Bradley, 65, of New Jersey. An Apple spokesperson said Bradley “supports the recent construction of the store.”
CBSBoston
Police responded to Derby Street around 10.45am on Monday.
“The Hingham Police Department and Hingham Fire Department responded, found several injured patients in front of the store and in the store, including a few patients pinned against the wall by the vehicle,” the fire chief said. of Hingham, Steve Murphy.
More than a dozen ambulances were called to the scene to transport the victims. Nineteen people were transported to the South Shore hospital. Two of the patients were later transported to hospitals in Boston.
“The injuries were somewhat diverse, ranging from fairly severe head trauma to fairly decent lower extremity trauma, mutilated limbs, but that was pretty much the bet. We had patients with confounding factors, chronic medical conditions that made it a little bit more difficult than just the standard trauma patient without other medical issues,” said Dr. William Tollefsen of South Shore Hospital.
Hospital officials said that given the time of day and day of the week, the hospital was well staffed and able to accommodate victims quickly.
Video from the scene shows a large hole in the storefront glass and several people on stretchers.
Jason Stott works nearby and witnessed the event. “There are probably close to ten ambulances in the parking lot at the moment, as well as many fire engines and police vehicles,” he described shortly after the accident. “The parking lot was very, very busy, so I guess there were a lot of people in the store.”
He said that from his vantage point he couldn’t see the car. “He must have traveled all the way to the back of the store,” Stott said.
Jason Stot
Another witness who spoke to WBZ-TV said she was sitting at a nearby Barnes and Noble at the time. “I was just sitting by the window and I heard a loud crash. It sounded like a lot of glass that had just broken,” she described. “It was scary because nobody knew what had just happened and what was going on, there were a lot of people running around.”
“I saw the car in the back of the store, so it looked like there were people who might have been trapped there,” she continued.
Kathleen Leombruno’s brother is the manager of the Apple Store. She came to the scene even though her brother was not injured. “I am devastated for these people who are so hurt and for this poor soul who is no longer here,” Leombruno said. “I’m so thankful it’s not my brother, but that doesn’t take the ease out of me knowing that all of these people are hurt, but it happened.”
A few hours later, the black Toyota 4Runner was towed off the scene.
An Apple spokesperson released a statement to WBZ-TV, saying: “We are devastated by the shocking events at Apple Derby Street today and the tragic loss of a professional who was on hand to support the construction store update. Our hearts go out to our team members and customers who were injured and all those affected by this terrible incident. We are doing everything we can to support our team members and customers during this very difficult time.
It is not known what led to the accident.
CBSBoston.com Staff
