Woman dies after being hit, pinned by taxicab

A taxi plowed onto a crowded Dorchester sidewalk yesterday afternoon, killing an elderly woman who was pinned beneath the cab's front wheels, police and witnesses said.

Witnesses said it appeared the driver of the independent taxi was attempting to go forward, but accidentally put the car in reverse. Three others were injured. The taxi also knocked over a fire hydrant, destroyed a metal bench, and shattered glass windows at the entrance of the Dorchester House Multi-Service Center .

Police last night said they were investigating the crash, which occurred shortly before 3 p.m. at the busy intersection of Dorchester Avenue and Kimball Street. Police did not identify the driver and would not say whether he would be cited.

"It sounded like a big explosion," said Linda Lindenberg of Quincy, a patient at the center who watched the crash while waiting for a ride. "I couldn't believe it. I was about to go sit on that bench. I'm still in shock."

The woman pinned under the taxi was either entering or exiting the taxi with her brother, who uses a walker and had come to the center for care, said officials at the Dorchester House. They identified him as John Carpenter and her as Ruth, but they did not know her last name. They said both were taken to Boston Medical Center .

Carpenter did not suffer life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

The other victims were identified as Helen Anderson, 41, a dental assistant at the Dorchester House, and Ray Stappen, an elderly man who lives at the nearby Kelly House apartments and was known to spend time on the corner, according to Pat Morse, a patient advocate at the Dorchester House.

Anderson was apparently pinned between the bench and the taxi and suffered a broken hip and pelvis, Morse said. Stappen complained of being dizzy and having chest pain, she said. Both were taken to a nearby hospital.

"It was a nightmare," Morse said. "We were lucky there was an ambulance nearby and that people responded so quickly."

She and others called a group of men from the nearby Fields Corner Auto Glass heroes.

One of the men, Stephen Binsack, rushed to the scene after hearing the crash. He said he and others had to talk the driver out of driving the taxi off of the woman pinned underneath.

Minutes afterward, Binsack said, he and a group of men lifted the front end of the taxi off the woman, allowing paramedics to pull her out.

"It's one of the most awful things I've ever seen," Binsack said.