The man accused of crashing an SUV through the front window of an Apple Store in Hingham, Massachusetts said his foot got stuck on the gas and that he was unable to apply the brakes before his vehicle plowed into the store, killing one and injuring 20 other people.
Bradley Rein, 53, faces a charge of reckless motor vehicle homicide in connection with Monday’s crash. According to prosecutors in the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, one person was killed and at least 20 injured when his Toyota 4Runner crashed through the plate glass window of Apple’s retail location at the Derby Street Shops plaza in Hingham. The car careened across the store floor, stopping only when it smashed into the back wall, officials said.
In Hingham District Court on Tuesday morning, Rein was held on $100,000 cash bail. Through his defense attorney, who called the crash an “unfortunate accident,” Rein had requested bail be set at $20,000.
Kevin Bradley, a 65-year-old New Jersey man, was pronounced dead at the scene. Twenty others were severely injured — doctors at South Shore Hospital, who said they treated 17 victims, described injuries that were “life and limb-threatening,” from head traumas and “mangled limbs.”
[Rein] said he had been shopping earlier in the morning and that his right foot became stuck on the accelerator as he drove through the lot. He said he tried to brake, but was unable to, police reported.
Rein told officers he had no medical issues and that the car had no mechanical concerns he knew of. He said he had not consumed alcohol or drugs Monday morning. According to prosecutors, a voluntary breathalyzer test at the police station had a reading of 0.0.
MacDailyNews Take:
It's obviously past time to put bollards in front of every Apple location that is exposed to vehicle traffic.
For example, Apple has since added protective bollards in front of Apple Evergreen Walk (Windsor, CT) which opened in 2014 without them. pic.twitter.com/K8473YeZPM
— MacDailyNews (@MacDailyNews) November 21, 2022
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how does your foot become stuck on the accelerator?
Most commonly caused by a floor mat or other object getting jammed under the gas pedal.
If he wasn’t under the influence of drugs/alcohol, and you can’t find any sort of motive for why he’d want to do something this heinous, and he expresses remorse that it happened . . . . I’m thinking it would be very difficult to prove that it was not an accident beyond a reasonable doubt (especially if there’s a plausible cause such as something potentially wedged that would cause it). It’s absolutely a tragedy if it was an accident and as citizens of a civilization we shouldn’t want there to be prison time — such a thing could happen to any of us with some poor luck. A civil suit and/or large insurance payment will be in order to the maximum extent and I suppose some additional civil penalty for negligence could be warranted . . . I’d be very curious what someone with a law degree would say. I’m speculating out loud here . . . just seems to me we don’t want to live in a country that criminally punishes actual accidents.
Totally agree, if it was truly accidental. It’s natural to want to blame someone, but if it’s shown that he wasn’t even negligent, he should be cleared.
I also agree, certainly looks like a classic accident should not be charged. If his foot became unstuck in a nanosecond panic very easy to miss the brake. Been there with no lives lost and minimal bumper damage…
Wouldn’t you turn the wheel and not go straight through a store? Looking at that parking lot it would be hard to get a straight shot and it had to be deliberate.