City truck smashes into apartments

City truck smashes into apartments
By O’Ryan Johnson  |   Tuesday, November 30, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

AT THE FRONT DOOR: Twelve residents of this Roxbury apartment building were evacuated after a Boston Transportation Department tow truck rammed into it.

Photo by Christopher Evans

Crystal Mograss’ kids were watching SpongeBob and waiting for their cheeseburgers when there was a fearsome crash and their Roxbury apartment building trembled.

“It sounded like someone dropped a fridge or a stove off the top floor,” Mograss said.

It was the Boston Transportation Department making an unscheduled stop. A BTD tow truck’s 6:15 p.m. crash into the six-unit St. James Street building startled residents who feared the building was collapsing.

Boston EMS, police and firefighters were on scene moments later to help evacuate 12 residents. They were placed on an MBTA bus to keep warm, while arrangements were made to put them up in a hotel. The tow truck driver was treated at the scene and taken to the hospital as a precaution. Transportation Commissioner Thomas Timlin said the driver was towing cars last night.

He declined to discuss the driver’s length of service with the city or his driving record. The truck will remain stuck in the building for structural security until the city can bring in a contractor today, Timlin said.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1299739