BILLERICA, MASS. (WHDH) - A witness inside the Lynnway Auto Auction building in Billerica Wednesday morning said an SUV that barreled into crowd and killed three people was traveling at a high rate of speed.
RELATED: 2 women, 1 man killed when SUV crashes into crowd at auto auction, DA says
“The car accelerated anywhere between 60-80 miles per hour,” said Edward Cruz. “It was going so fast that I though it was an explosion.”
Another witness, Frederick Kyazze, said he heard a loud bang and thought the building was collapsing.
Three people, including a man and 2 women, were killed when an employee in a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee suddenly lurched forward at a very high rate of speed, hitting a crowd of people, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said. Several others were seriously hurt.
Massachusetts State Police say evidence suggests that the incident was not an intentional act. They say the employee, in his 70s, mistook the accelerator pedal for the brake pedal as auto dealers viewed the SUV. Witnesses said the employee was sitting in the driver’s seat expressionless, possibly in shock.
The crash is under investigation.
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