Massachusetts first responders say a van crashed into the YMCA in Foxborough, injuring four of the five children who were at a day care center inside the building.Foxborough police Chief Michael Grace said that at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the department received multiple 911 calls reporting the crash at 67 Mechanic St., the Hockomock Area YMCA location known as the Invensys Foxborough Branch.Foxborough fire Chief Michael Kelleher said the injured children, all under the age of 5, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, most of which were soft-tissue injuries caused by broken glass.The four injured children were transported to area hospitals, but Kelleher said one of the children had injuries that were more serious in nature and that they were transported to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, out of an abundance of caution.”The staff were fantastic. Working in the Y, there were a lot of high schoolers and young college girls who were on scene helping with the kids,” Grace said.Kelleher said there were two people inside of the van, including the driver, at the time of the crash. According to the fire chief, those two occupants were not injured.It took crews hours to remove the van from the building because the vehicle struck a bollard — a short, sturdy post — before it crashed through the wall and into the day care center.Jim Downs, chief executive officer of the Hockomock Area YMCA, said the bollard likely saved lives.”I’m certain it helped out. It would’ve been worse if it wasn’t there,” Downs said.Grace said the driver of the van remained at the crash scene and is fully cooperating with investigators.The driver works for Amego, an organization that supports individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities and was driving someone to the YMCA so they could swim there.”I’m very happy that our client and our employee are both OK right now. I’m really hoping the best for the families who were involved,” said John Randall, Amego’s president and chief executive officer.According to the police chief, investigators with the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section are helping the Foxborough Police Department with the crash investigation.Grace said the van involved in the crash is not owned by the YMCA and appears to belong to an outside vendor that may transport children to Foxborough’s YMCA location.Foxborough’s building commissioner also responded to the scene to check the safety and integrity of the YMCA building, according to a Facebook post shared by police.The Hockomock Area YMCA shared on social media that its Foxborough location is closed for the remainder of Tuesday and that it will reopen at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.In his statement, Downs said the YMCA received confirmation from officials regarding the structural integrity of the rest of the building outside of the day care center that the organization felt safe resuming services to members on Wednesday.
Massachusetts first responders say a van crashed into the YMCA in Foxborough, injuring four of the five children who were at a day care center inside the building.
Foxborough police Chief Michael Grace said that at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the department received multiple 911 calls reporting the crash at 67 Mechanic St., the Hockomock Area YMCA location known as the Invensys Foxborough Branch.
Foxborough fire Chief Michael Kelleher said the injured children, all under the age of 5, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, most of which were soft-tissue injuries caused by broken glass.
The four injured children were transported to area hospitals, but Kelleher said one of the children had injuries that were more serious in nature and that they were transported to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, out of an abundance of caution.
“The staff were fantastic. Working in the Y, there were a lot of high schoolers and young college girls who were on scene helping with the kids,” Grace said.
Kelleher said there were two people inside of the van, including the driver, at the time of the crash. According to the fire chief, those two occupants were not injured.
It took crews hours to remove the van from the building because the vehicle struck a bollard — a short, sturdy post — before it crashed through the wall and into the day care center.
Jim Downs, chief executive officer of the Hockomock Area YMCA, said the bollard likely saved lives.
“I’m certain it helped out. It would’ve been worse if it wasn’t there,” Downs said.
Grace said the driver of the van remained at the crash scene and is fully cooperating with investigators.
The driver works for Amego, an organization that supports individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities and was driving someone to the YMCA so they could swim there.
“I’m very happy that our client and our employee are both OK right now. I’m really hoping the best for the families who were involved,” said John Randall, Amego’s president and chief executive officer.
According to the police chief, investigators with the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section are helping the Foxborough Police Department with the crash investigation.
Grace said the van involved in the crash is not owned by the YMCA and appears to belong to an outside vendor that may transport children to Foxborough’s YMCA location.
Foxborough’s building commissioner also responded to the scene to check the safety and integrity of the YMCA building, according to a Facebook post shared by police.
The Hockomock Area YMCA shared on social media that its Foxborough location is closed for the remainder of Tuesday and that it will reopen at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.
In his statement, Downs said the YMCA received confirmation from officials regarding the structural integrity of the rest of the building outside of the day care center that the organization felt safe resuming services to members on Wednesday.