Skip to content

Truck Driver Kills Pedestrian In Harvard Square

A woman in her 60s has been pronounced dead after a boom truck driver struck her in the heart of Harvard Square early this morning, according to reports from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Cambridge Police.
Truck Driver Kills Pedestrian In Harvard Square
Brattle Street in Harvard Square next to the Out of Town News kiosk, shown in a May 2019 file photograph.

A woman in her 60s has been pronounced dead after a boom truck driver struck her in the heart of Harvard Square early this morning, according to reports from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Cambridge Police.

Shortly before 7 a.m., the Cambridge Police and the Cambridge Fire Department reportedly responded to a crash on Brattle Street next to the Out of Town News kiosk.

The victim, described as a female in her 60s, was transported to an area hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

In a statement regarding a preliminary investigation, District Attorney Ryan offered few details, but claimed that the victim “was not in a crosswalk.”

StreetsblogMASS has reached out to the District Attorney’s office to clarify how investigators came to that conclusion, and whether it will press any charges against the responsible driver.

Harvard Square is one of the busiest foot traffic areas in greater Boston. The Harvard Red Line subway stop, which is adjacent to the crash site, is the third-busiest subway station (behind South Station and Downtown Crossing) in the MTBA system, with over 23,000 daily entries, and in deference to the area’s pedestrian traffic, there are three broad crosswalks in close proximity crossing Brattle Street in the vicinity of Out of Town News.

The death in Harvard Square marks the region’s third serious crash in less than a week. Last Wednesday evening, a van driver killed one pedestrian and injured another in Fort Point; on Thursday, a garbage truck driver seriously injured another pedestrian on the McGrath Highway in Somerville.

Photo of Christian MilNeil
Christian has edited StreetsblogMASS since its founding in spring 2019. Before that, he was a data reporter for the Portland Press Herald in Maine. Got tips? Send them to me via Signal, the encrypted messaging app, at 207-310-0728.

Read More:

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.

More from Streetsblog Massachusetts

Monday’s Headlines Should Wean Themselves Off Fossil Fuels

April 20, 2026

Boston City Council to Host Hearing On Delays, Lost Funding for Transportation Projects

April 16, 2026

New Bluebikes Contract Takes Effect, Focused on Expansion and E-Bikes

April 16, 2026

Councilors Durkan, Santana Propose Eliminating Off-Street Parking Mandates for Housing In Boston

April 15, 2026

Drivers Killed Two Victims This Weekend, In Boston and Webster

April 13, 2026
See all posts