Police identify Roslindale man, 30, as victim in fatal backhoe collision

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

Police said they have identified the victim of a fatal weekend collision between an SUV and a backhoe on Belgrade Avenue in Roslindale as a 30-year-old neighborhood resident.

Edward Britt of Roslindale, was rushed to Faulkner Hospital shortly before midnight Sunday where he was pronounced dead from head injuries after the blue Ford Explorer he was driving collided with a backhoe removing snow near 201 Belgrade Ave., officials said.

According to police, arriving officers found the SUV standing in the middle of the busy roadway with extensive front-end damage.

No citations have been given and charges have not been pressed, officials said.

"It appears the victim['s vehicle] ran into [the backhoe]," said Boston Police spokeswoman Jill Flynn.

Britt was the SUV's lone occupant, and the backhoe's operator did not report injuries, she said.

The backhoe was being operated by a private, Dorchester-based company, police said, though it remained unclear from police and city officials Thursday morning whether that company may have been contracted by the city for the snow removal work.

The incident, including the speed and direction each vehicle were traveling when they collided, remains under investigation.

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.