CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - It was a crazy scene around Fresh Pond Parkway that saw at least two 30 foot plus racing boats go flying through the air, off a trailer.
Police say the boats and a pickup truck pulling them were stolen from the Arlington Belmont Rowing Club near Spy Pond. They say the driver jumped in the truck, bashed a tree, and went up onto a walking trail, finally hitting busy roads in Arlington, Cambridge and Belmont. There, they crashed into cars, barriers, and two gas stations along the way.
“It was a big truck and hit the Jeep coming out, and then the canoe fell off the truck,” said Nicolas Greige, of the Fresh Pond Shell. “It was nasty.”
“He lost the rowboat at the Shell Station,” said Tony Bechwati, of Fresh Pond Gas. “He hit the car in the rotary and hit us here… Very crazy.”
It was down the road at the Fresh Pond Shell that one of the 11 long boats came flying off into the station parking lot.
Prosecutors say the driver came to a stop when one wheel was ground down to the rim. They say they pulled him out of the car, making no sense.
“The defendant in this case drove erratically where he struck numerous vehicles, numerous city properties, and caused injuries.”
James St. Claire is facing multiple charges, including larceny and destruction of property.
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