Car hits several people at Boston’s Logan airport causing numerous casualties
A taxi ploughed into a crowd of people near Boston’s Logan airport on Monday afternoon, injuring at least ten.
The incident sparked terror fears following latest attacks using vehicles in London, Berlin and Nice, but police were quick to reassure the public that there was no evidence that the crash was intentional.
A police official, who did not want to be named said the crash was believed to be a case of "operator error" in which the driver stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake.
A 56-year-old taxi driver was being questioned by police at the scene, but no arrests had been made on Monday afternoon.
"At this preliminary point in the investigation, there is no information that suggests the crash was intentional. The driver is presently being interviewed," a police spokesman said.
P ictures of the scene displayed the white taxi cab, bruised at the front, having evidently hit a building near some picnic tables.
The car lost control and hit the crowd of people, who were mainly other taxi drivers waiting to pick up passengers from the airport.
"We discovered that one of the cab drivers in the pool had leaped the curb and struck several other cab drivers who were sitting in a sitting area, a rest area, awaiting their next fares," a Massachusetts state police spokesman said.
T en people were hospitalised in the crash, with state police telling the injuries were of "varying severity".
Boston has one of the largest Fourth of July celebrations in the country. There has been high police presence in the city at major events since the two thousand thirteen Boston marathon terror attacks.
Police: no evidence crash was intentional
M assachusetts state police spokesman David Procopio said based on the preliminary investigation, "there is no information that suggests the crash was intentional".
Incident 'not terror related'
T he 7News channel, citing police sources, reports that the incident was not terror related but was "a case of operator error".
56-year-old taxi driver being interviewed by police
M assachusetts State Police said a 56-year-old taxi driver who struck the group of pedestrians near Boston’s airport remained at the scene and was being interviewed by police.
Incident 'shows up to be tragic accident rather than deliberate attack'
D aniel Linskey, former superintendent in chief of Boston Police, says peaceful response of officers on scene suggests a tragic accident rather than a deliberate attack.
"We would see tactical squads demonstrating up and other resources," he told CNN. "And we aren’t eyeing that."
He added that the area was also used by cab drivers rather than travellers.
Boston city taxi involved in the incident
P ictures appeared to showcase that a Boston city taxi was the vehicle that struck pedestrians:
Looks like the car that hit pedestrians in Boston near the airport was a taxi pic.twitter.com/6fggtzxhRq
'Several pedestrians with injuries'
M assachusetts state police has said there are several injured at the scene after a car drove into pedestrians at Boston’s Logan airport.
MSP, @bostonpolice, @BostonFire, @BOSTON_EMS onscene. Preliminary reports indicate several pedestrians with injuries, varying severity. https://t.co/2bqBJYDOh3
— Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) July Three, two thousand seventeen