3 cars catch fire in Boston’s Ted Williams Tunnel after crash

BOSTON – Three cars caught fire in the Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston after a crash Friday afternoon. It happened shortly after 4 p.m. on the HOV ramp from I-93 north to I-90 east.

A witness told WBZ-TV she heard several loud bangs, a pause, then several more. She also reported seeing people running out of the tunnel and another witness said debris fell on her car.

Several people treated for smoke inhalation

Boston firefighters quickly extinguished two of the burning cars. The third was a hybrid, which took longer to extinguish, according to Boston Fire.

There were six people in the cars. Three people were transported to the hospital by Boston EMS. State police said several people were treated for smoke inhalation.

Michael Cram was inside the tunnel at the time. “The first thought is with these flames, everyone is OK, and then OK, are we OK,” Cram said. “Then we start seeing smoke and flames.”

Cram was riding in a car driven by Julie Brownell. The two men had just stopped on the I-90 on-ramp east of the South End.

“I had the windows down and the sunroof open and we could go,” Brownell said. “I didn’t know if parts of the car were exploding or what was actually happening. Like Michael said, there was so much smoke you could barely see it.”

Cram said he tried to run to the cars to check on the passengers, but the flames and flashes became too intense.

He described a coordinated dance in which drivers helped each other turn around. They worked to make room for first responders.

“It was kind of a little dance that everyone was doing that actually went a lot faster than I thought it would,” Cram said. “Everyone kind of came together.”

The burned cars were taken out of the tunnel and towed to a nearby state police barracks.

“It’s really scary to see. It’s like a complete shell of a vehicle,” Brownell said. “We’re just grateful that everyone is OK.”

Two ramps closed after a fire

The fire paralyzed traffic at the start of the holiday weekend.

The eastbound HOV ramp and Frontage Road ramp were closed for nearly six hours following the fire. All debris was removed and the ramps were reopened at 10 p.m.

The fire damaged light fixtures, wall tiles and the sidewalk in the ramp area. The road is safe for travel and the damage will be repaired at a later date, according to MassDOT.