City Tow Truck Crashes Into Roxbury Home
ROXBURY (CBS) - A city-owned tow truck slammed into an apartment building in Roxbury Monday evening, forcing a hasty evacuation of the unstable structure.
Incredibly, no one was hurt when the truck buried its nose in the basement at 61 St. James Street, as tenants like Crystal Lipomi scrambled from their apartments in a somewhat puzzled panic.
"I went downstairs and it was all smoky," Lipomi told WBZ-TV.
"At first I thought the place was on fire. I was scared. But then I saw the truck sticking inside the building, with bricks everywhere."
WBZ-TV's Ken MacLeod Reports
Witnesses say the truck was barreling downhill just before 6 p.m., when it clipped a couple of parked cars and veered into the aging three-story building -- causing it to visibly buckle.
"He had to be speeding to go into the building and almost knock it down like that," says witness Samantha Sommers, who was standing across the street. "I mean thank God all of the people and kids inside are perfectly fine."
Firefighters plucked some of those residents from a window, and moved them to a bus parked nearby to stay warm. The Red Cross helped them find others places to stay -- at least for the time being.
WBZ Radio's Karen Twomey Reports
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But as investigators measured and snapped pictures, some witnesses steamed about the tow truck driver's behavior after the crash. That's when they say he angrily blamed the wreck on illegally parked cars, and later chuckled about the mishap with some buddies.
"He was laughing and joking," says witness Cynthia O'Brien. "I couldn't hear exactly what he was saying so I said 'Yeah, real funny.' He just looked at me and rolled his eyes."
Some found the driver's conduct especially infuriating because he works for the city of Boston.
His name hasn't been released, but the city's transportation boss was quick to caution against guesswork or a rush to judgment.
"Everyone's entitled to their opinion," offered Boston Transportation Commissioner Tom Tinlin. "We'll talk to the driver, and the investigation will lead where it leads."
Officials decided to leave the truck embedded overnight, fearing part of the building might collapse if they simply yanked it out now.
Experts are expected to assess the structural integrity of the building sometime Tuesday, and the city is pondering several possible scenarios to remove the truck -- including the use of a crane to support the sagging building.
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WBZ's Karen Twomey reports from the scene.
