Transit officials said the operator of an MBTA Green Line Trolley was text messaging someone on his cell phone as his train rear ended another train near Government Center Station Friday evening.

Dozens were injured, and 49 people were taken to area hospitals.

Commuters, students finishing for the year, tourists and a bevy of fans headed to Friday’s Red Sox game were among the dozens of people injured in a subway crash near the MBTA’s Government Center Station, normally a bustling station near Boston City Hall and the Quincy Market area.

None of the injuries are considered life threatening.

According to officials, the train rear-ended another train at 7:18 p.m. The second train was pushed to within 75 feet of the station.

Are you there? Were you there? Get in touch with Blast and share your story, photos, etc.

About The Author

John Guilfoil is the editor-in-chief of Blast: Boston's Online Magazine and the Blast Magazine Network. He can be reached at [email protected]. Tweet @johnguilfoil.

One Response

  1. Tam

    This will not be the last instance of a tragedy caused by a worker who didn’t take his responsibilities seriously — and it will not be confined to public transit operators.

    I think it’s important to identify root causes here. Sorry to say, I am not the first to notice a new level of immaturity in today’s workers. Specifically, employers are reporting 1) a decreased sense of accountability along with 2) an increased sense of entitlement. Think about it for one minute, and you begin to see that’s a dangerous combination: It doesn’t even occur to people to put the needs of others before their own desires.

    I’d go further, but the following, written by a high school teacher, does a better job than I ever could:

    http://donaldgallinger.com/dons-blog/jack-from-missouri/12-my-self-of-steam.html

    Unfortunately, I think imprisonment is necessary here. It may be unfair to the young driver, who perhaps was never taught a sense of social responsibility by the adults in his life. But neither were thousands of young people who are just entering the workforce. The only way to prevent future loss of life and limb may be to “shock and awe” these new workers.

    Then, as a more permanent measure, we MUST start teaching kids better values.

    Reply

Leave a Reply