May 9, 2008 - Driver Faces Multiple Charges in Truck Crash

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A delivery truck hauling medical supplies collided with 8 cars before catching on fire early Thursday in Allston, Mass. The driver of the truck will be charged with multiple offenses in the incident.

Boston Police intend to charge 38-year-old Timothy Newton of Revere, Mass. with leaving the scene of an accident (property damage), leaving the scene of an accident (personal injury) and driving to endanger.

Newton’s operator’s license was also suspended. His license has been suspended twice before, once in 1997 after seven violations or accidents, and again in 2005. It was reinstated in 2007 after he completed a driver safety course.

Three people, including the driver, suffered minor injuries in the series of crashes that occured at around 7:20 a.m. Thursday when Newton lost control of his truck and collided with a pickup, which plowed into a fence bordering nearby subway tracks.

Newton’s truck continued to careen out of control, hitting four other cars before sending a Lexus into a storefront window and dragging another Lexus down the street until both vehicles  burst into flames.

Hazmat teams arrived on the scene because the medical supplies the truck was hauling were flammable. Only three people, including Newton, were injured in the collisions. They were treated for minor injuries before being released from nearby hospitals.

Newton was released from the hospital with his leg in a cast. He apologized for the crashes, but did not make any further comment. A witness at the scene claims that he told her he may have blacked out while driving.