A fatal crash shocks witnesses
Juan Jiminez, 34, of Amherst, was driving along Boylston Street just after 1 p.m., headed to a restaurant with his wife and son. The family had just finished registering to vote at the Colombian consulate nearby when Jiminez saw a small Honda change lanes in front of him.
A split second later, Jiminez saw the Honda crushed by a huge piece of scaffolding that had fallen from an Emerson College building a half-block from the consulate. The front of Jiminez's car was hit by falling debris, as well.
''Oh, my God, it was just awful, because the bodies were lying there in front of us," said Jiminez, his hands still shaking an hour after the accident. ''I still hear the people screaming. We had just wanted to find a place to eat."
Yesterday seemed to be picture-perfect on the Piano Row section of Boylston Street, across from Boston Common, people in the area said.
People strolled, lovers were holding hands, students were eating lunch at park benches, and construction workers chugged bottles of soda.
And then everything turned to chaos. Seconds after the crash, workers from nearby buildings, some wearing business suits and others wearing jeans and work shirts, rushed toward the scene, trying unsuccessfully to lift the scaffolding from the cars.
''It just came down, flying from the front of the building, and crushed a car," Wayne Cote said.
Ambulances, police cars, and paramedics screeched to the scene. Police tape went up, and firefighters warily eyed pieces of scaffolding hanging off the building.
Windows all around the Common were thrown open, as students and office workers stuck their heads out, trying to figure out why there were helicopters hovering overhead and people screaming below.
Curious people stood shoulder-to-shoulder on a low wall around the Common's 250-year-old Central Burying Ground, holding on to the spikes of the black metal fence on top of the wall for balance.
About 300 people gathered on the Common, from French tourists trying to get a glimpse to runners who had been training for the Boston Marathon. Many held up camcorders or cellphones with cameras to capture the scene. Some cried.
For several hours, a smashed section of railing dangled from the building. On the ground were rows of damaged cars, one of them crushed beyond recognition and all of them unfit for driving.
As the sun disappeared and the temperature dropped around 2 p.m., many stood shivering, some milling about, saying, ''That could have been me."
Grim-faced construction workers for the project contractor, Macomber Builders, lined the street in their white or green hard hats. Just after 2 p.m., some 35 of them -- including workers from McPhee Electric company, also on the project -- were hustled away from the accident scene and escorted by police one block down to the posh Four Seasons Hotel.
The doormen nodded politely as they marched in, carrying lunch pails or tool belts. Police used the hotel as an impromptu briefing area and met with the workers and some loved ones inside.
Classes came to a halt at Emerson College, where several rooms faced the accident. The school canceled classes later in the two buildings closest to the incident.
''We heard a crashing noise, and everything sort of stopped," said freshman Jon Meyer, 19. ''Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something topple over onto the street onto a moving car. I saw three bodies on the ground, one sprawled out with blood coming from his head."
Kevin Cassidy, an electrical worker with IBEW Local 103, was inside the building when he heard the crash, the thud, and then the screams.
''I came outside to see four people lying in the street," Cassidy said, before being tugged inside the hotel.
''I don't ever want to see something like that again."
Suzanne Smalley and Jenna Russell of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Information from Boston.com was also used. Samuels can be reached at asamuels@globe.com. 