A Boston driver is facing multiple charges after he allegedly struck three pedestrians in the South End while accelerating through a crosswalk late Friday night, according to Boston police.Michael Watkins, 64, of Roxbury, is expected to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of leaving the scene of personal injury and operating under the influence of alcohol.Police said they responded at approximately 11:56 p.m. to the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Clarendon Street for a report of a triple pedestrian crash. While en route to the scene, officers were told the suspect had failed to stop his vehicle and fled the area.Upon arrival, the three victims told police that they were in the crosswalk when Watkins honked his horn at them before accelerating through the crosswalk and striking them.The victims, two women and a man, were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.As officers responded to the scene of the crash, Watkins and his vehicle were located a short distance away on Tremont Street. Police said the smelled a strong alcohol odor on his breath while speaking with him. Officers took Watkins into custody after further investigation.

A Boston driver is facing multiple charges after he allegedly struck three pedestrians in the South End while accelerating through a crosswalk late Friday night, according to Boston police.

Michael Watkins, 64, of Roxbury, is expected to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of leaving the scene of personal injury and operating under the influence of alcohol.


Police said they responded at approximately 11:56 p.m. to the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Clarendon Street for a report of a triple pedestrian crash. While en route to the scene, officers were told the suspect had failed to stop his vehicle and fled the area.

David Bienick The intersection of Clarendon Street and Columbus Avenue in Boston’s South End on the morning of May 11, 2019.

Upon arrival, the three victims told police that they were in the crosswalk when Watkins honked his horn at them before accelerating through the crosswalk and striking them.

The victims, two women and a man, were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

As officers responded to the scene of the crash, Watkins and his vehicle were located a short distance away on Tremont Street. Police said the smelled a strong alcohol odor on his breath while speaking with him. Officers took Watkins into custody after further investigation.