At least 40 injured in Green Line T crash

Emergency responders treated the injured at Government Center. (By Wendy Maeda, Globe Staff)

By Matt Byrne, Globe Correspondent

Two Green Line trains crashed while heading westbound between Government Center and Park Street on Friday night, injuring at least 40 people, although none of the injuries were life threatening, according to MBTA and Emergency Medical Services officials.

The crash was reported at about 7:19 p.m, according to one MBTA police official. One train is believed to have crashed into the back of another stationary train at the Government Center platform, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. Each train had two cars, he said. Police and EMS reported to the scene, and fire officials reported evacuating 100 people.

The majority of the injuries were lacerations or of an orthopedic nature, and two people reported having chest pains, said John Gill, deputy superintendent of Boston EMS field operations.

One of the train operators "was the most serious of all the injuries, but he is in stable condition," Gill said.

MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas said the two trollies derailed during the accident, and that he hoped to have service returned to the stations by Saturday morning, but that it wasn't definite.

The scene around Government Center became quickly congested after the crash, as dozens of emergency vehicles descended on the area. To make matters worse, the Big Apple Circus was at City Hall Plaza Friday night, putting hundreds more people in the area.