On the morning of Monday, Nov. 21, one person was killed and more than a dozen people were hurt when a 53-year-old man drove his SUV through the front display of an Apple Store in a suburb outside of Boston. The reports suggest that he was charged with reckless homicide but later pleaded not guilty. (1)
Bradley Rein, 53, was identified as the Toyota 4Runner’s driver and was subject to a criminal investigation. According to Plymouth Country District Attorney Timothy Cruz, Rein was not taken to the hospital directly after the collision. Rein was held on a $100,000 cash bail and won’t be permitted to drive a vehicle. (2,1)
Prosecutors claim Rein told investigators he was searching for an eyeglass store when his right foot got trapped on the accelerator of his car. According to Rein, he tried to break with his left foot, but was unsuccessful. According to court records, Rein told investigators he had no medical conditions that would pose a challenge for him to drive. (1)
“I’m sure that we will find out once we have an opportunity to review all the documents and tapes, wherever it’s necessary to go forward from there and figure out exactly what happened and really what the absolute unthinkable event that occurred at that store when you’re just going there to buy a phone or get something fixed or whatever it may be, it’s absolutely unthinkable. It’s absolutely tragic,” Cruz added. (3)
Kevin Bradley, 65, of New Jersey, was identified as the deceased. According to an Apple representative, Bradley was “supporting recent construction at the store.” Meanwhile, more than a dozen ambulances reported to the scene to transport the injured victims and provide them with necessary healthcare as soon as possible. The Hingham fire chief, Steve Murphy, reported that, at around 10:45 a.m., numerous 911 calls were made. According to Murphy, firefighters and police officers discovered several individuals pushed against a wall by the truck and several injured persons in front of the store.  (2)
“The injuries were somewhat diverse, ranging from some pretty serious head trauma to some pretty decent lower-extremity trauma, mangled limbs, but it was pretty much a gambit. We had patients with confounding factors, chronic medical illnesses as well that made things a little more difficult than just the standard trauma patient without other medical things going on as well,” stated Dr. William Tollefson from the South Shore Hospital. (2)
On Nov 22, South Shore Hospital officials reported during a press conference that the eight patients who were hospitalized survived and there was no major harm. Two people were still in intensive care with “multi-system” injuries, and with broken ribs. (1)
“All of a sudden we hear this, I don’t want to say explosion but a bang, a very loud bang. So we jumped up from the table and we looked out the window and we could see the hole in the Apple Store. And she had seen a car go by so she was like ‘Oh my god that car just went through the Apple Store.’ And that was really it. Honestly this is too much. I just want to go home. It was a lot,” a witness, who later identified herself as ‘Ann,’ said in her statement to NBC10 Boston. (3)
“We had just walked by the Apple Store to get our coffee and we decided to stop for a minute. We could’ve been walking back by[…]So my heart goes out to all the employees of Apple and all the customers that were in that store because nobody should be dealing with this holiday week. Nobody,” she added. (3)
Apple commented on the horrific incident and “the tragic loss of a professional who was on site supporting recent construction at the store. Our hearts go out to our team members and customers who were injured and all of those who were affected by this terrible incident,” the company said. “We are doing everything we can to support our team members and customers at this very difficult time.” (3)
During his visit to the South Shore hospital on Nov. 25, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the patients who were affected by the crash. He was reportedly seen dining later that night at a famous steakhouse in Quincy called “Alba,” where the owner, Leo Keka, was very excited to receive Cook. Keka described Cook as a classy person. He was also spotted taking pictures with the employees of the restaurant. On Saturday, the Apple CEO also visited the Apple Store on Boylston Street to meet with the employees. (4)