An auction house has been evacuated after somebody lost control of a car inside the building and struck over a dozen people.
Three people are dead and roughly 12 are injured after getting hit by a Jeep Cherokee inside Lynnway Auto Auction in Billerica, Mass., around 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, WCVB-TV reports.
The Jeep reportedly was in one of Lynnway’s eight lanes when it accelerated to avoid colliding with cars ahead of it, hitting a group of people standing between the lanes of vehicles. It continued traveling at roughly 40 mph, according to witness Randy Miller, before hitting the side of the building.
“We heard a bang or an explosion. It was almost like a bomb. The whole place just went silent,” Miller said, via WCVB-TV. “There were people just lying on the ground — a horrific, crazy, tragic situation.”
JUST IN: At least 2 dead, 12 injured after car crashes through auto auction in Billerica, MA, officials say. https://t.co/O0pXTKDQ3y pic.twitter.com/vA8ZCQIJWH
— ABC News (@ABC) May 3, 2017
Woody Tuttle, another witness who works at the auction house, described what happened to WCVB-TV from his point of view.
“(The Jeep) avoided the cars, and went on to hit the people who were standing between the cars,” Tuttle said. “Three (men) were on the ground being tended to. There was a woman who was crying, but she was standing up, and I saw two men on the ground who appeared to be dead.”
Massachusetts State Police reportedly believe the incident was in fact an accident, rather than an act of terror.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@WCVB
