BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston Mayor Michelle Wu spoke on Wednesday one day after she was a passenger in one of two vehicles involved in a car crash in Hyde Park.
Officials said no one was seriously hurt in the crash. But questions have remained surrounding what caused the incident.
The crash happened Tuesday morning at the intersection of Blakemore Street and Hyde Park Avenue.
The mayor’s police driver said she had her lights and sirens on as she drove through a red light immediately before the crash. Speaking on Wednesday, though, Wu told 7NEWS there was no emergency. Wu continued, saying she didn’t know the lights and sirens were on.
“I was on my phone and not really seeing what was happening as the lights were turned on in that intersection,” she said. “I know my team and the officers who are on our detail team are of the utmost professionalism and training. I have full faith in the care and diligence with which they do their job.”
A woman and child who were in the other car were both taken to a hospital to be checked out after the crash. Wu said she went with them in the ambulance to provide interpretation.
On Wednesday, Wu said she, herself, felt stiff after the crash but otherwise felt fine.
In an accident report filed by the officer behind the wheel in the car driving Wu, the driver wrote that she was driving “with lights and sirens activated.”
“The traffic light at Blakemore Street was red,” the officer continued. “Officer Smith was stopped at the red light, then slowly approached the intersection to ensure that the oncoming traffic were able to see and hear the cruiser entering the intersection.”
Surveillance video showed a vehicle in one lane stop while a car in the next lane keept going and crashed into the unmarked police car with Wu inside.
“Officer Smith was unable to avoid the collision due to vehicle #1’s fast approach and did not stop or slow down for the cruiser’s lights and sirens,” the police officer wrote in her report.
Wu did not say whether she thinks the officer should have had lights and sirens on, saying instead that the incident is under review.
Boston police also said the question of whether the officer should have gone through red lights with her lights and sirens activated will be part of the investigation.
“As with any kind of departmental vehicle that is involved in a crash, there is a review that happens and particularly when it is a BPD vehicle, that happens within the department,” Wu said.
Contacted on Wednesday, the woman who was driving the other car said she is doing okay, though she said was outraged to find the police officer is blaming her in the incident.
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