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Motorists Are Demolishing South Boston

It's been many years since highway bureaucrats have been allowed to bulldoze neighborhoods to pave the way for high-speed car traffic - so some car owners are taking matters into their own hands.
Motorists Are Demolishing South Boston
Drivers crashed into two South Boston buildings in crashes on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17, 2020. Photos courtesy of the Boston Fire Dept.

It’s been many years since highway bureaucrats have been allowed to bulldoze neighborhoods to pave the way for high-speed car traffic – so some car owners are taking matters into their own hands.

The Boston Fire Department has had to respond to multiple crashes in recent days involving car drivers who are crashing into and causing major structural damage to two three* buildings in South Boston.

The first crash, in the early morning hours of Oct. 16, ruined McGoo’s Pizzeria on West Broadway. Crews had to install a temporary load-bearing support column to keep the building from collapsing entirely, and six residents of the building’s apartments were displaced:

Then on Saturday, another driver used their vehicle to destroy the foundation of an apartment building at 614 E. 3rd Street, leaving 17 residents homeless:

Neither of the buildings was wearing helmets or bright clothing when the crashes occurred.

*UPDATE: two days after this story initially published, a third driver backed their car onto the sidewalk and caused major damage to the storefront of an insurance office at 659 Broadway:

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.

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