Two men fatally struck by dump truck in downtown Boston
Two men believed to have been hit by a dump truck and knocked into a deep hole in Boston’s Financial District at the start of the business day were pronounced dead on the scene, according to NBC News.
The victims, whose names have not been released, were killed around 8 a.m. police said. What reportedly started out as a rescue mission quickly became a recovery effort when authorities responded to a report of an accident in downtown Boston.
CBS News reports that a crane was brought in to lift a truck up so the trench wouldn’t collapse.
“This is a tragic incident,” Boston police Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long said.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh called it a “sad, sad incident on what started out as a beautiful day.”
A family member of one of the victims told CBS the men were hit, then plunged 20 feet below street level. Boston 25 News reports that the city’s police commissioner said investigators are trying to determine whether the men were knocked into the trench by the truck or killed while working in it.
“Right now we don’t know if this is a crime; we know that it’s a tragedy,” Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said.
Her office is looking into the incident.
