[beriarele]

NBC NEWS, BOSTON - A fire truck had went out of control about two hours ago down a hilly street across a main street, crashed trough a fence and slammed into an apt building, killing one firefigjhter and seriously injuring another. The 2nd firefighter has life-threatening injuries.

There was a report of a loss of braking power. The radio call reported that the brakes had let go!

The fire truck was coming down Parker Hill Ave which is a hilly street, when suddenly, the vehicle just wouldn't slow down. Instead, it picked up speed and kept on going, crossing Huntington Ave through traffic lights , and barreling through a brick wall fence like a runaway 777, and came to rest into the the front of an apt building.

Three children were also hurt by flying shattered glass. Several other firefighters also suffered minor injuries.

The children and the other firefighters are said not to be in any life-threatening danger. The street in that section has been closed off.

And BTW, that same fire truck was involved in an accident on December 10 just a day short of a month ago, that occured in almost that same general area when it rear-ended the back of a car!

[Bill-Watson]

I've been hearing helicopters.

Probably crashed into Mission Park from the sounds of it.

Yep.



That's freakin nuts!
When the truck struck the building, it crashed into a computer lab where seven children, ages 7 to 12, were working on an after-school project, according to resident David Ramos, 46.

Ramos said he came down from his family’s ninth-floor apartment when he felt what he described as a tremor, like an earthquake, and heard the alarms. By the time he reached the first floor, he ran into the after-school coordinator who he knew only by first name, Millie.

“She was all shook up crying and everything,” he said.

The truck had struck a wall near the computer lab, where seven children, ages 7 to 12, were working on an after-school project.

"Some of the kids were full of glass," said Ramos. "They were sitting next to the window where the impact was."

Ramos grabbed paper towels and said he helped clean up some of the children, who were bleeding with cuts from the flying debris.

“It was chaotic for these kids. They were nervous, crying, screaming,” he said. “They were out of control, the poor things.”

Ramos said, “The kid that I was taking care of was full of blood” coming from a cut on his head.
Ramos applied pressure to staunch it.

“He was crying, he was screaming. He was wanting his mommy, his mommy, his mommy,” Ramos said.

Three children were taken to Children's Hospital with minor injuries and are expected to be released today, according to Andrea Duggan, a hospital spokeswoman. There are street trollys that run along Huntington right there. This could have been a lot worse.

It impacted the shorter tower complex on the left.

[ImmitsRom]

It DID.

Didn't know that you live in Brookline.

[sDePrx59]

I lived on Mission Hill for many years too.

[flanna.kersting]

I lived in JP near the bottom of that hill.

I now tutor children at a school on the other side of that hill near Roxbury Crossing.

I was in that area just the other day after leaving the school and the nearby supermarket.

I went up near that area to wait for a trolley, since the Brigham Circle stop is aways friggen crowded there and there are no empty seats by the time I get on.

[Alexunda]

I heard that the fire truck has since been removed from the scene of the accident.

[MoreEndotte]

There are now several fire trucks in Boston that have come under fire (no pun intended) for faulty brakes. Two more of them were discovered with brake malfunctions yesterday.


Mayor Manino wants to handle the problem himself, but the union representing the firegighters wants the state to get involved. All 57 or so fire trucks throughout the city are now schedule for a B check to make sure that they are all checked and repaired accordingly, especially the brakes which have come under serious controversy since the tragic accident had occured on Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, two of the injured children were interviewed - a young brother and his young sister. The 10-year-old boy had to have staples put in his head where the cut from the glass was and his sister only needed stiches put in hers.

They decribed in detail, the horror that they went through during and right after the crash. Their injuries are not life-threatening, though they might be forced to skip school for several days to allow their wounds to heal.