Man steals RIDE vehicle with passenger inside, crashes into multiple cars in Boston, police say
BOSTON - A man who allegedly stole an MBTA RIDE vehicle in Woburn and crashed into multiple cars in the O'Neill Tunnel in Boston was arrested after a foot chase, State Police said.
Transit Police said the driver of the RIDE vehicle, a Ford Flex, parked in the area of 2 Elm Street in Woburn at about 3:30 p.m. and got out. An adult female passenger was still seated inside the car.
Police believe the driver left the keys inside the vehicle. The suspect, 34-year-old Thomas Baldwin, got in and drove towards Boston.
Police said the RIDE passenger has intellectual challenges and called 911 seeking help.
Several minutes later, State Police located the stolen vehicle in the O'Neill Tunnel and attempted to stop it.
"The suspect crashed into multiple vehicles in the tunnel and continued to flee on Route 93 south in Boston," State Police said. "The Trooper lost sight of the vehicle and the pursuit was terminated."
The suspect allegedly barreled through traffic until he crashed again into more cars near Surface Road and Clinton Street, including Connor Bassett's car.
"He came flying up, bounced off my rim up here and then hit him and took off running out the passenger window there," Bassett said. "I thought the MBTA hit me, and I was wondering why they did that, and then I realized that you know he probably stole the car."
Witnesses said the suspect jumped out of the window of the car after the crash. "The guy who he crashed into just high-tailed it after him, just chased after him," said witness Eoin Byrne. Byrne said good Samaritans checked on the woman in the back of the stolen car and she was helped out by firefighters.
Tour bus driver Clinton Crocker didn't hesitate to also chase the suspect on foot, snapping photos of the man while on his tail.
"I knew something was wrong because he went sprinting away, so I chased after him down to this intersection here and when I got close enough to him I yelled 'hey' and he turned around so I was able to get a good picture of his face," Crocker said.
Troopers chased Baldwin on foot and found him in a function room in The Bostonian Hotel where he was arrested.
The woman inside the stolen vehicle had minor injuries and was taken to a hospital.
According to the MBTA, the RIDE paratransit service provides public transportation to people who can't use the subway, bus, or trolley due to a disability.