Silke Jasso
Families are mourning the loss of loved ones in Massachusetts after what’s being called a “tragic accident” occurred at a car auction in Billerica early Wednesday.
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Police say three people are dead and at least nine others sustained injuries after an employee at the site, a man in his 70s, accidentally accelerated the Jeep Cherokee he was in into a crowd people.
Authorities say the ages of those injured ranged between the 30s and 60s.
One of the deceased has been identified as 36-year-old Leezandra Aponte, a mother of three. Her brother, Orlando Aponte, was the one who came forward and identified her. The two others who were killed have not yet been identified.
Orlando Aponte said Leezandra Aponte was just two hours into her first day of work when she was killed.
The grieving brother told NECN that his sister had just begun a temporary job at the auction house.
“She just got back from vacation with the girls,” he said. “She loved her kids a lot. She left them behind. Her son still doesn’t know yet.”
Her son, Aponte said, is joining the U.S. Army.
“She was at my mom’s house yesterday,” Aponte continued. “Mom painted her nails. Mom cooked her dinner. They were just always together. They lived about five minutes away from each other.”
“She loved to decorate,” he said. “She loved her family. She was a family woman.”
Although there were initially fears that this could have been a terrorist attack, since some of those in recent memory involved trucks driving into crowds of people, police believe that this was an accident.
“The information we have right now suggests that this was a tragic accident,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said. “From what we know at this point, some people have head injuries, and there are a number of back, leg and torso injuries.”
Witness Andre Fedorov told NBC Boston it was “definitely an accident.”
“There was a loud noise, everyone started running. Just a car was through the wall, there were people on the ground,” he said. “It was definitely an accident,” he added. “It wasn’t purposeful.”
“I just want to extend our sympathies to the community, to the Lynnway employees and especially to the victims and the victims’ families,” Billerica Police Chief Daniel Rosa said today.
The Jeep may have been going 20 mph. Although it’s being called an accident, it remains unclear what caused the elderly driver to accelerate.
Authorities say “a long investigation” is in underway.
