Dark smoke from a high-rise roof fire at 1 Memorial Dr. in Cambridge provided some some scary moments to early morning commuters today. The fire was extinguished quickly and no injuries were reported. The morning commute was impacted on Memorial Dr. and the Longfellow Bridge from the 6:20am fire. See more here with the Herald’s Matt Stout.
I was driving east on Storrow when I saw this overturned car in the westbound lanes. A Massachusetts state trooper was rendering aid to the victim, who was laying inside and underneath the rolled vehicle. I parked under the Longfellow bridge and put on a lime green highway vest. News photographers on the highway, in essence, become highway workers so we are told to wear these vests. I crossed Storrow and came to a position at the median strip fence approximately 25 feet from the action. More troopers were arriving and one came over to me and asked what I was doing, etc. I told him that I was a photographer with the Herald and that I would “keep my distance” and not get too close and that I wasn’t going to move forward from my perch standing on the jersey barrier. I noticed the original trooper trying to calm the victim and, at the same time, ascertain what his injuries were. One man who had also stopped to render aid did not approve of my presence and stood in my view between the victim and my camera lens. I had to employ the old bob-and- weave method, all the while hoping that there would be some interaction, maybe a touch, between the two. I kept bobbing and the other by-stander kept weaving, and then it happened. State trooper Kevin Nichols reached out and lightly stroked the man’s leg while saying “hang in there.” It was a nice, subtle moment. I was glad to have captured it. Shortly afterward the Boston fire department took over and extricated the man. All in a day’s work for these officials.
From puddle-jumping in the Back Bay to heavy surf in Winthrop, the last couple of days have been more action packed, weather wise, than the majority of this winter season has. Throw in today’s wind and you get the trifecta. Below are photos I snapped of yesterday’s high tide in Winthrop and rain in Boston, and today’s wind in Boston.
I photographed at a frozen fenway park today as the Boston police and Boston fire department hockey teams squared off. This was a very good brand of hockey, as both teams have former high school, college and drafted pros on the ranks. The game was cleanly played with Boston’s finest edging out the hosemen. Boston cop Frank St. Peter, in top photo at right, needed a few stitches above his eye after a 2nd period collision. Others in my photos include BPD skaters Jeff Connolly and Charlie Daniels and Boston firefighters, goalie Mike Sweeney and Ryan Maher among others. Last, but of course not least, is retired Boston firefighter/fire investigator Bill Noonan manning the camera in bottom photo.
I arrived at the scene on Route 190S in Sterling long after authorities had left. I needed several moments, driving up and down the highway, to find the scene. I finally noticed fresh tire tracks leading to a rock wall, which led to an area on the snow that obviously had just supported a rolled over vehicle. From the divots in the dirt and snow, it seemed obvious that the car rolled several times after hitting the rock wall. Since the car was a Ford Crown Victoria, I was not sure that I had the correct accident because it appeared that the tire tracks were from a double wheeled truck. I realized that Tim Murray’s account of the accident had him exiting the road onto the shoulder in a skid. In a skid the left side front and rear tires will make skid marks adjacent to each other, as will the right front and rear tires, so I felt comfortable that this was his tire marks and not, let’s say, the tow truck coming to pick his car up. I saw some objects strewn about at the scene that also piqued my interest. My photos are below. Herald scribe Chris Cassidy’s story from that day is here.
My video, below of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s funny response to a Daily Beast survey that lists Boston as the drunkest city in the nation. Boston Herald’s Raakhee Mirchandani asks the questions and the mayor, suffering from a December cold, answers as only he can. See Raakhees’ story in the Boston Herald.
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I came upon this in South Boston’s seaport district on D St. The MBTA says that this driver ran a red light and was then struck by the Silver line bus. See my photos below.
This was a sad news event to cover for sure as word of the death of firefighter James Rice started to spread to working firefighters at 5 Hancock street. See my photos below.
Here is my photo of Last week’s full moon and a photo, snapped today, of a Back Bay construction team readying for the day ahead. How DO they enter that outhouse?
As Occupy Boston took it’s show on the road to a Copley Square event, Boston police, including the top department brass lead by Commissioner Ed Davis, followed. Yesterday’s 1pm rally included an aluminum foil replica of the now infamous kitchen sink that was confiscated by police Thursday night from the Dewey Square encampment. It also included speeches, a band and an unsuspecting newly married couple who meandered out of Trinity Church and into a large Occupy Boston march. The just married couple, Phillip Marshall and Elise Reynolds, did not mind one bit as they are both Occupy Boston supporters. See my photos below. See Herald story here.
