HINGHAM, Mass. — Shoppers returned to Derby Street Tuesday.
Christmas music played.
Burton’s opened for lunch.
And the jagged hole in the Apple Store remained. But likely not for long. Workers spent Tuesday morning painting and nailing into place wooden panels tall enough to cover the shattered glass facade.
Bradley Rein, 53, plowed into the store Monday, killing one person and injuring some 20 others. He pleaded not guilty in Hingham District Court to charges including reckless homicide by a motor vehicle and reckless operation of a motor vehicle. Rein is held on a $100,000 cash bail. He said it was an accident caused by his foot getting stuck on the accelerator of his Toyota 4Runner.
“I’m not surprised they arrested him,” said Greg Parquette, who came to Derby Street to shop with his wife. “I don’t see how anybody could have done that level of damage accidentally.”
Of course, the real damage came in the form of injuries to Apple customers and workers. Most were transported to South Shore Hospital, a Level II trauma center, some of them in dire condition.
“Pretty significant head injuries, many orthopedic injuries including arms and legs,” said Dr. Jason Tracy, chairman of emergency medicine at South Shore Hospital. “Lots and lots of fractures, chest trauma, lots of pulmonary injuries.”
Eight patients remained hospitalized Tuesday, two in the ICU. Doctors say many face a long and difficult recovery ahead.
“Multiple rib fractures are painful,” said Dr. Frederick Millham, chief of surgery at South Shore Hospital. “It’s hard to put the chest at rest. You can’t put your ribs up on a hassock and watch TV. So it takes awhile to get over rib fractures.”
Fortunately, all patients at South Shore Hospital are expected to survive, and Millham said no loss of limbs is anticipated, either, as doctors first feared.
Two of the injured originally treated at South Shore were transferred to Brigham and Women’s Hospital for more extensive care. Three others were directly taken from the scene to Boston Medical Center. The condition of those patients is unknown.
Dr. Will Tollefsen, vice-chairman of emergency medicine and urgent care at South Shore Hospital, responded to the scene in Hingham. He described it as surreal.
“When you get into the store, the strobe lights are flashing from the alarm, the alarms going off, there’s a little bit of a smoke haze and there’s just glass everywhere,” Tollefsen said. That glass posed a slipping hazard, but somehow Tollefsen was able to triage, treat and get transported all the injured bodies around him. He said it feels great to know things went smoothly.
“Our team is really proud of what was accomplished yesterday,” said Tracy. “Within moments, we had four trauma surgeons, multiple vascular surgeons, multiple orthopedic surgeons.”
In addition, Tracy said the hospital treated some 270 other patients Monday, including a critically-injured party who came in as doctors were dealing with victims from Hingham.
“Yesterday, everybody went into the mode of preparing for and caring for patients as they arrived,” he said. “Our team did an absolutely amazing job.”
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