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SUV driver crashes into Mass. Apple store, killing one and injuring more than a dozen

Employees and shoppers were rendering aid when first responders arrived; EMS providers transported 16 people to hospitals

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Hingham police officers and firefighters survey a mass casualty scene where a car drove into the front of an Apple Store on Nov. 21.

Photo/Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald

By Todd Prussman
Boston Herald

HINGHAM, Mass. — The driver of an SUV that smashed through the glass front of the Apple store in Hingham Monday, killing one and injuring more than a dozen, is being charged with motor vehicle homicide, the Plymouth DA announced today.

Bradley Rein, 53, was arrested Monday night after an investigation by state and Hingham police, according to Plymouth DA Timothy Cruz.

Rein is due at Hingham District Court this morning where he’ll be arraigned on the homicide charge.

According to Hingham police, Reins was held at Plymouth County House of Correction overnight.

The devastating crash shattered the pre-holiday shopping season when Rein allegedly rammed his car through the massive glass front of the Apple store and plowed into the back, mowing people down and trapping victims when his 2019 Toyota 4Runner came to rest.

Killed in the calamity was Kevin Bradley, 65, of New Jersey.

Apple released a statement saying it was “devastated by the shocking events at Apple Derby Street today and the tragic loss of a professional who was onsite supporting recent construction at the store.”

“It’s absolutely unthinkable, absolutely tragic,” Cruz said at the scene Monday. “We’re going to make sure we go slow and steady with this.”

Police and rescue crews responded to Derby Street sometime after 10:45 a.m. to many 911 calls reporting that a car smashed through the exterior wall of the Apple Store.

Emergency responders found Bradley dead at the scene, the DA said in a release after his family was notified

Co-workers and shoppers rushed to the critically injured and were already administering aid when responders arrived, the DA’s office said. Reinforcements were called in quickly including responders from Abington, Weymouth, Hull and Scituate.

Sixteen people in the store with different levels of injury were taken to South Shore Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center for treatment.

“We have multiple patients with life-threatening and limb-threatening injuries,” said Christopher Burns, South Shore Hospital chief of trauma, early Monday afternoon.

The injuries ranged from serious head trauma to “mangled limbs,” said EMS medical director William Tollefsen, adding the hospitals were able to handle the large case influx.

Witnesses at the scene said Rein’s SUV was moving fast when it smashed into the store, including one who told WCVB he estimated the care was going “at least” 50 mph.

Asked about the speed of the SUV on Monday, Cruz said, “Regarding the operator of the motor vehicle, we’re looking into that. Regarding the status of the motor vehicle, we’re looking into that. And, obviously, we’re going to give the information that we can.”

Rein was previously arrested on a drunk driving charge in Vermont.

Vermont State police released a report of his arrest in late December 2020 after Rein, 51 at the time, was involved in a single-car crash.

“Upon arrival, Vermont State Police identified the operator was Bradley Rein. Subsequent investigation revealed Rein had been operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol,” the Vermont State Police said in a news release.

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