SAUGUS, Mass. — A man accused of causing a chain-reaction crash that left two cars lodged inside a vacant Boston Market restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus on Monday night will face criminal charges, authorities announced Wednesday.
The 62-year-old man, whose name hasn’t been released, has been cited for negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating with a suspended license, operating an unregistered vehicle, and possession of a Class A drug, according to the Saugus Police Department.
Police say the man was speeding along the northbound side of the highway in a 2010 BMW when he lost control and struck a white Toyota Prius in a parking lot, causing both vehicles to careen through the front of the shuttered eatery at 158 Broadway around 7:45 p.m.
The man was extricated from his wrecked BMW and rushed to Mass General Hospital. As of Wednesday morning, there was no update on his condition.
Police noted that drugs found in the man’s vehicle are believed to be either fentanyl or heroin.
Video from the scene showed extensive damage to the front of the building and the mangled vehicles overturned inside the glass storefront.
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Lucas Fernandes, who owns the white Prius, told Boston 25 News that he was stunned to learn his car was destroyed in the crash.
“I don’t know how he drove my car inside. It was parked 20, 25 feet from the building,” Fernandes said.
The building was recently purchased and renovated, and the property owner was preparing to reopen it as a new restaurant.
“We just bought the place, we were making all the renovations and were ready to open January 1,” the owner told reporters. “Thank God nobody got hurt.”
In October of 2022, a Chelsea woman was charged with drunken driving after crashing her car into the same building.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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