CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - Rail service at Alewife station is back on track, nearly a week after a vehicle crashed into a parking garage barrier, causing extensive damage to the facility.
The MBTA announced service would resume Friday morning, stating that riders will only be able to enter and exit the station through the nearby Russell Field headhouse rather than the main lobby, where repair work continues.
In the announcement, officials noted that due to reduced capacity, drivers and riders should still consider alternate transit and parking options if possible. Purchasing tickets before arriving at the headhouse was also recommended to avoid potential lines at fare vending machines.
The return of rail service comes days after the parking garage partially reopened, with levels G through 4 now open to drivers.
Crews continue to repair the damage caused by a car that crashed into a concrete barrier on Saturday, Feb. 4, sending debris flying from the fifth floor of the garage onto the station below.
Officials considered the crash to be “intentional” at the time, which left a vehicle teetering on the edge of the garage.
Transit Police Department details charges sought against driver
At the same time as the service announcement on Thursday, the MBTA Transit Police Department released new details on the crash itself.
On their website, the department stated it was around 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 4 when an officer heard a loud crash come from the garage.
“Upon arrival, he observed that a white Honda Civic had crashed through the concrete barrier wall and was partially hanging off the roof on the east side of the garage directly above the main mezzanine of the station,” the department said in its announcement.
The officer then approached the vehicle to find a 29-year-old man alone, lying on the ground by the driver’s side door, according to the TPD. The male, a Medford resident, was “conscious but not alert” and shortly after being found, “ceased breathing.”
The officer proceeded to perform first aid before EMTs arrived, taking the male to a nearby hospital for emergency care. Going off of statements made by the driver to the officer, interviews with a family member of the driver, and a follow-up investigation, TPD officials said they believed the driver’s actions were intentional and that the driver “was seeking to harm himself.”
“After conferring with the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, we establish the following; Whereas the male driver operated his vehicle in a reckless and negligent manner, we seek the criminal charge of Operating to Endanger in violation of M.G.L., and whereas the male driver’s reckless and negligent actions caused numerous pedestrians/commuters to be struck with significant debris causing injury to one,” the department stated. “We seek eight (8) counts of the criminal charge Assault & Battery Dangerous Weapon to Wit: Glass, Steel, Concrete.”
The Transit Police Department also said they had an “Immediate Threat” application with the RMV to revoke the driver’s license.
(Copyright (c) 2022 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)