A Somerville man was arrested for trespassing Monday night after becoming trapped within the walls of the Ted Williams Tunnel, according to Massachusetts State Police. Daniel J. Kelly, 27, was rescued after he called 911 saying he couldn’t find his way out of an underground storm drain.

According to a state police statement, Kelly apparently had no idea where in the Boston tunnel system he was and could not find an exit. Around 9:20 p.m., State Troopers slowly meandered underground ramps with cruiser sirens blaring until Kelly told a dispatcher he could hear them.

After 20 minutes of searching and taking turns sounding sirens to determine Kelly’s exact location, police say they found him inside a wall of the Ted Williams Tunnel’s D ramp, which connects the Massachusetts Turnpike to I-93. The D ramp was shut down while troopers searched vents, doors, and ceiling openings within the tunnel network. Kelly was found sitting atop a pipe 15 feet off the ground of a vent shaft after waving his hand out of the vent’s opening.


Kelly was immediately arrested for trespassing and brought to the Massachusetts State Police Tunnel Barracks. He was arraigned on Tuesday and, according to Fox 25 News, said in court that he would represent himself after a judge denied his request to dismiss the charges. Fox 25 also reported that Kelly said he thinks his drink was “spiked’’ at a bar before the incident, and that he has no recollection of how he ended up in the tunnel.

Kelly is due back in court on June 10.