Billerica,MA : Safety changes are in order following car-auction crash on may, wednesday 3rd 2017

A tragic accident, or a preventable one? These hard questions must be asked in the wake of the deadly crash at a car-auction site in Billerica on Wednesday.

Several vehicles and prospective buyers in close proximity -- without a safety buffer in place -- might be viewed as an accident waiting to happen. And while it's true that vehicles to be viewed normally moved at a slow pace, all it takes is a mechanical problem or human error for an everyday occurrence to morph into chaos.

And that's what law enforcement and safety personnel must determine to pinpoint what caused that horrible accident that left three people dead and nine others injured; one remains in serious condition.

As The Sun reported Friday, the circumstances surrounding the Billerica crash -- where a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by a 70-year-old employee suddenly accelerated and hit several people before crashing halfway through the cement wall -- are eerily similar to an accident that occurred at a car auction in Framingham in 2015.

In that incident, a BMW SUV driven by a 78-year-old employee suddenly accelerated and crashed through a wall, injuring seven people. At the time, the Adesa Auto Auction featured an open layout similar to the one in Billerica. Having dodged a tragedy, the Framingham auction instituted safety changes, including installing cement bollards -- short, vertical posts -- to provide protections when cars move through lanes.


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Safety changes are in order following car-auction crash