Local News

Red Line service to resume at Alewife; new details of crash emerge

The driver intentionally caused the crash, trying to harm himself, police said.

By Ross Cristantiello

February 9, 2023

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Red Line service is set to resume at Alewife Station Friday, according to the MBTA. 

The news comes almost a week after a car crashed into a barrier on the top level of the parking garage, sending debris hurtling through the station’s glass ceiling and into the lobby.

The MBTA Transit Police also released new details Thursday regarding the crash and the actions of the man behind the wheel. He will likely face criminal charges for his actions. 

The Red Line will start running to Alewife at the start of service on Friday. The main lobby of the station will remain closed for repairs. 

Riders will have to enter the station through the Russell Field headhouse, which is a two-minute walk from the Alewife garage, the MBTA said. The garage partially reopened Wednesday, allowing drivers to access the G, 2, 3, and 4 levels. The top level, where the crash occurred, remains closed. There is no access to the lobby floor directly from the garage.

MBTA workers have installed new lighting and signage along the path that connects the station with the Russell Field headhouse. Riders will be directed along a path that runs through a tunnel under Alewife Brook Parkway. 

In a release Thursday, Transit Police revealed new information about the crash. At about 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 4, a Transit Police officer on patrol in Alewife Station heard a loud crash from the fifth floor of the garage. The officer went up to the scene of the crash, and found a white Honda Civic that had plowed through a concrete barrier. The car was partially hanging off the roof of the east side of the garage, directly above the station’s main mezzanine. 

Debris had fallen from the garage onto the station’s ceiling below, causing glass panels and more debris to plummet into the lobby. Miraculously, multiple people were hit by debris but only one person in the lobby suffered a minor hand injury.

The officer approached the car and found a 29-year-old Medford man lying on the ground next to the driver’s side door, which was open. The man was conscious but not alert, police said. He stopped breathing soon after, and the officer immediately “began life saving measures with positive results,” police said. 

EMTs arrived on the scene, and the driver was transferred to their care. He was brought to a local hospital. 

Officials have not identified the driver. There was no one else in the car at the time of the crash. 

Police believe the driver’s actions were intentional, and that he was trying to hurt himself. Transit Police came to this conclusion based on statements made by the driver, interviews with his immediate family, and a follow-up investigation. 

Working with the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Transit Police said they are pursuing a charge of operating to endanger and eight counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.