Brookline crash escalates: Man allegedly attacks driver with hatchet or axe
The Prius had extensive impact damage and deployed airbags. Multiple windows were shattered, and the tempered windshield glass had been severely dented and punctured, consistent with multiple blows from a hard, sharp-edged object.
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The officer identified the driver of the Prius and was able to speak to them after they called their uncle so he could act as a translator over the speaker phone. He told the officer that they had somehow been encroached upon in traffic by another motorist in a gray pickup truck, which they described as a gray F150, somewhere in the area of Cambridge Street.
He said the truck had chased them and that they had been forced off the road as a result of the suspect's dangerous driving. He also said that he had felt disoriented after the crash but remembered the suspect aggressively confronting him and smashing his vehicle windows with a hammer or axe.
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He described the suspect as a white male who was about 25 years old, with an average to slight build, and brownish hair. He said the suspect had swung the hatchet at him and chased him down the street a short distance while waving it.
He said he did not remember where the suspect or his vehicle had gone after attacking him.
Witnesses told the officer that they saw the suspect chasing the victim, on foot
,
along the sidewalk while armed with an axe. One witness said the suspect had walked towards Babcock Street away from the crash scene and suggested the officer may be able to obtain surveillance video from the witness' workplace
Another witness gave the officer a 10-second cell phone video she had taken that was timestamped at 10:46 p.m. It shows a white male with an average build, short-to-average height, medium-length hair, and short beard.
He is wearing a white T-shirt with a plain front and the words 'Natural Flow' on the back, dark blue jeans, and brown sneakers. The video shows the man smashing the victim's vehicle repeatedly with a small hatchet.
The victim's hand, which was injured in the crash, was bandaged by firefighters. He declined further medical attention.
The incident
remains under investigation.
Adam Sennott can be reached at
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