Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WEBVTT TO BE A VERY LONG INVESTIGATION,INTO WHAT OFFICIALS ARE CALLING,A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT.A HORRIFYING SCENE AT THELYNNWAY AUTO AUCTION JUST AFTER10:00 THIS MORNING, SEVERALHUNDRED CUSTOMERS AND A FEWHUNDRED MORE EMPLOYEES INSIDETHE SPRAWLING BUILDING WHEN SUV WENT OUT OF CONTROL.>> TRAVELED INSIDE THE BUILDINGAT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED,STRIKING NUMEROUS PEOPLE, ANDULTIMATELY WAS BROUGHT TO A HALTBY CRASHING INTO A CINDERBLOCKWALL.REPORTER: TWO WOMEN AND ONE MANWERE KILLED, EIGHT MORESERIOUSLY INJURED, AND ONEHOSPITALIZED FROM THE STRESS OFWHAT HAPPENED.>> SOME HAVE LEG, BACK, TORSOINJURIES.REPORTER: POTENTIAL BIDDERS HADBEEN WALKING IN AND AROUNDVEHICLES AS THEY WERE SLOWLYDRIVEN THRU THE BUILDING ONTRAVEL LANES AS THEY DO EVERYWEDNESDAY, WHEN IT HAPPENED.NEWS 9 INVESTIGATES HAS LEARNEDTHE JEEP WAS A TRADE IN FROM ANAUTO FAIR DEALERSHIP IN NEWHAMPSHIRE.THE DEALERSHIP SENT THE JEEP TOAUCTION, AND IT WAS THEN OUT OFTHEIR HANDS, DRIVEN BY ANAUCTION EMPLOYEE IN HIS 7TIES,-- 70'S.AT THIS POINT, AUTHORITIESBELIEVE IT WAS AN ACCIDENT>> PUSH THE GSA, GAS, GO FAST.REPORTER: OFFICIALS ESTIMATE ITTRAVELED ABOUT EIGHTY YARDS THRUTHE BUILDING.ACCORDING TO THE D.A., THEDRIVER OF THE JEEP WAS NOT AMONGTHOSE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL.SHE SAYS IT WILL BE SOME TIMEBEFORE INVESTIGATORS KNOWEXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED, AND WHY.

Advertisement 3 killed when vehicle crashes through Mass. auto auction Driver, in his 70s, was auction employee; police say crash appears accidental Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Three people were killed and several others were seriously injured Wednesday when a Jeep crashed through a crowd of people in an auto auction house in Billerica. >> Download the FREE WMUR app Several hundred customers and a few hundred more employees were inside LynnWay Auto Auction just after 10 a.m. when the vehicle went out of control. "It suddenly accelerated, traveled through the inside of the building at a very high rate of speed, striking numerous people and ultimately was brought to a halt by crashing into a cinder-block wall," Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said. Two women and one man were killed. One of the women has been confirmed as Leezandra Aponte, 36, of Lowell, Massachusetts. A temp worker, Tuesday was her first day working at LynnWay. >>One victim in auto auction crash identified as employeeEight others were seriously injured, and one person was hospitalized from the stress. "From what we know at this point, some people have head injuries, a number of back, leg, torso injuries," Ryan said. >> NH man witnessed auto auction crash: ‘The most horrific thing I have ever seen’ Potential bidders were walking in and around vehicles as they were slowly driven through the building on travel lanes, an event that customers said happens every Wednesday, when the Jeep drove through the crowd. The vehicle was a trade-in from Auto Fair Dealership in New Hampshire. The vehicle was driven by an auction employee in his 70s, and authorities said they believe the crash was an accident. The driver was not among those taken to a hospital. Officials estimate that the Jeep traveled about 80 yards through the building. Ryan said it will take some time before investigators know exactly what happened. Car dealer Edward Fandunyan said he was close enough to hear the boom of the crash and witness the aftermath. Fandunyan, who owns Sevan Auto Group of Manchester, said he's one of many dealers who regularly go to the Billerica auction. >> Watch: Aerial video over scene of crash Fandunyan, a former police officer, said the emergency was unlike any he had been around before. "I've seen it before, but nothing like this," he said. "You go there buying cars. They are prepared for anything, and just boom, it happens. It's sad." In the chaos that followed, Fandunyan said first responders arrived right away as people tried to help one another. Other New Hampshire car dealers who were at the auction told News 9 that they were grateful to be alive. One dealer, a retired Salem firefighter, said he worked desperately to give CPR to a woman, but she didn't survive. Another dealer, Rick Menard, of Dover, said he tried to keep another victim from being trampled. "I happened to see a gentleman on the ground in front of the car," Menard said. "I was trying to block people from stepping on him until the gentlemen from the garage could get a fence around him and clear the scene for EMS." Randy Miller, of Manchester, said it was initially unclear what had happened. "You hear, like, this explosion or a bang, and all of a sudden, you could hear a pin drop," he said. Some people thought it was a bomb, Miller said. He said he'll never forget what he saw once the smoke cleared. "I came running around on the outside, and then I saw a trail of bodies just lying there," Miller said. "One guy was gravely injured." The dealers said there is a sense of family at the auctions, and some relationships extend back decades. "Everybody is pretty shaken up," Miller said. "By the time we left there, everybody was looking down. It was a sad time." Among the unanswered questions and the grieving, there is also loyalty. "I'll be back next Wednesday," Menard said. There was no word on whether the auctions would resume next week.