BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - An excavator plunged about 10 feet into a ditch in Brockton Tuesday evening.
Fire officials responding to the scene near the intersection of Nilson and Laureston streets found the construction equipment on its side in a large ditch and the operator nowhere to be found, according to a post on the department’s Twitter page.
Witnesses said the driver climbed out of the hole, got in his car, and just drove away.
“He was rushing,” Neighbor Eomingos Fernandez said. “He was talking on to the phone too. I don’t know who he was talking to but, he was talking on the phone and then he left.”
In June, the home on Nilson Street burned down and the hole was the beginning of a foundation for a new one. Now, that construction is on hold.
Brockton Building Inspector Frank Gazerro said the man — who works as a sub-contractor for a foundation company — rented the excavator.
“They need to taper the sides of the hole back 45 degrees, if they have a straight embankment, there is nothing to hold the machine up,” he explained.
Some oil and gas did leak out of the machine as a result of the crash and environmental inspectors are expected to evaluate the problem on Wednesday.
The cause of the crash is unknown at this time.
No further details were released.
Brockton Fire is at Nilson and Laureston for an overturned excavator. Operator fled. No fuel leak. Companies returning shortly. pic.twitter.com/6SJ0WvwEuK
— Brockton Fire (@Brockton_Fire) January 12, 2021
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS for updates online and on-air.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)