On Monday afternoon, a taxi cab drove into a crowd of people in East Boston, according to Massachusetts State Police. Multiple people have been injured near the intersection of Porter Street and Tomahawk Drive, near Logan Airport.
The cab drove on to a patio area where people working in the area often gathered on break.
Police have told local news media that the incident does not appear to be intentional at this time. According to the Boston Globe, police are looking at this as “driver error,” as it appears to have been an accident, and does not appear to be terror-related.
NEW: First images coming in from crash near airport. Several people injured, per MSP #NBCBoston
BREAKING: Injuries reported after cab crashes into pedestrians in East Boston near Logan Airport. Sky Ranger showing the scene. @nbcboston
Victims are being transported to local hospitals with injuries varying in severity. A total of ten people have been taken from the scene by ambulance. There have not been any confirmed fatalities at this time.
The driver involved in the crash remained at the scene and an investigation is ongoing. Although his name has not been released, State Police spokesman David Procopio confirmed that the 56-year-old male taxi driver was being interviewed by authorities.
This Boston car crash comes less than two months after a man named Richard Rojas drove his car on to a busy sidewalk in Times Square in New York City. Rojas’ vehicle injured 23 people and claimed the life of one 18-year-old girl. In addition to that incident, there have been several terror attacks in which men have drove vehicles into crowds of people over the past several months.
In June, the London Bridge attacks left seven people dead after three men drove a van into a crowd. Over 30 people were taken to nearby hospitals after the van plowed through people in its path on the London Bridge and through the Borough Market.
While many people initially thought that the incident in Boston may have been terror-related because of these previous intentional attacks, it does sound like the Boston cab driver may have lost control of the vehicle.
