1 Dead as car drives through Apple Store

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At least one person is dead and 16 people are injured after a car drove through an Apple store in Hingham, Massachusetts, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said in a news conference Monday.

Around 10:45 a.m. numerous 911 calls came in for help at Derby Street Shops, Cruz said. Hingham police and fire personnel responded shortly thereafter to find several people injured at the Apple store, Cruz added.

“A dark-colored SUV appears, went through at a rate of speed undetermined, through a … glass window and struck multiple people,” Cruz said.

Responding units found “multiple patients injured out in front of the store and in the store, including a few patients that were pinned against the wall by the vehicle,” Hingham Fire Chief Steve Murhpy said during a news conference Monday.

Cruz said the investigation into the car crash is “active” and ongoing.

“Regarding the operator of the motor vehicle, we’re looking into that. Regarding the status of the motor vehicle, we’re looking into that,” Cruz said. The driver of the vehicle has not been taken to the hospital, according to Cruz.

“My understanding is he’s not been taken to the hospital as of yet,” Cruz said. “He is, right now, with police officers.”

The man accused of driving an SUV into a Hingham, Massachusetts, Apple store, killing one person and injuring 20 others, has been identified as Bradley Rein, a prosecutor’s office tweeted Tuesday.

The 53-year-old has been charged with “reckless homicide by motor vehicle,” the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said in the tweet. Rein was arrested Monday night and is scheduled to be arraigned in Hingham District Court, the tweet said without providing a date and time.

People were injured in front of the store and inside it, including victims who were pinned against the wall by the vehicle, Hingham Fire Chief Steve Murphy said. Seven fire engines and 14 ambulances responded, he said.

Police identified Kevin Bradley, 65, of New Jersey, as the victim killed at the scene, Cruz said, noting the investigation into the crash is active and ongoing.

First responder Dr. William Tollefsen, from South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, described using a restaurant near the Apple store to triage people and keep them out of the cold. The injured included people with head trauma and mangled limbs, he said.

South Shore was treating patients for life- and limb-threatening injuries, some of whom were still awaiting surgery Monday afternoon, said Dr. Christopher Burns, the hospital’s chief of trauma. The medical center was treating 17 patients from the crash as of Monday evening, Cruz’s office told CNN. Two other injured people initially taken to South Shore were transferred to hospitals in Boston.

An attorney representing a Massachusetts man who is facing charges after allegedly driving an SUV into an Apple Store in Hingham, killing one person and injuring 19 others, told a court Tuesday that he tried to brake but could not, as his foot "got stuck on the accelerator."

Bradley Rein, 53, pleaded not guilty to charges of motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation and reckless operation of a motor vehicle during an arraignment hearing at district court in Hingham.

“Although the outcome of this accident was horrific – and I don’t want to downplay that – it was just that. It was an accident," said Rein’s court-appointed attorney, identified by The Patriot Ledger newspaper as Alison King.

As you heard from his summary and the state police reports, Mr. Rein was very cooperative with the police, agreed to searches, to breathalyzers, to speaking with them. He was not under the influence of alcohol – he blew a 0.0 on a preliminary breathalyzer, and the blood draw should come back with nothing in his system as well," she continued.

As he explained, his foot got stuck on the accelerator – as he explained to me -- between the accelerator pedals and the side," the lawyer added. "He tried to move his foot and get it unstuck. He also tried to brake with his other foot while he was doing that, but he was unable to."

In a police report, Rein told State Trooper Andrew Chiachio following the crash that he drove to the strip mall where the Apple Store was located to repair a lens in his eyeglasses, which he was not wearing at the time of the incident, according to The Patriot Ledger.

"While driving in the area of Barnes and Noble, Mr. Rein stated his right foot became stuck on the accelerator and his vehicle accelerated," the newspaper quoted the trooper as writing. "Mr. Rein stated he used his left foot to try to brake, but was unable to stop the vehicle and crashed through the front of the Apple Store."

The father of two has no criminal record in Massachusetts, and a drunk driving charge he was hit with years ago in Vermont has been expunged, The Patriot Ledger added.

Rein’s bail has been set at $100,000.