Story highlights At least nine others injured at auto auction in Billerica, Massachusetts

Massachusetts State Police: "All evidence ... at this time suggests an accidental cause"

(CNN) Three people were killed and at least nine others injured Wednesday after an SUV suddenly sped forward and ran down customers at an auto auction in Billerica, Massachusetts, north of Boston.

Two people have life-threatening injuries, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said. A family member of one of those killed was not injured but was taken to a local hospital due to stress, she said.

Ryan said preliminary information suggests it was an accident. She said the driver was a Lynnway Auto Auction employee in his 70s. He was not hospitalized.

"At this point, there is no evidence or information to suggest the incident was caused by an intentional or terrorist act. All evidence and information at this time suggests an accidental cause," the Massachusetts State Police tweeted.

No evidence of attack, intentional act in Billerica incident. Investigation ongoing. https://t.co/z164qn13wM — Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) May 3, 2017

Several hundred employees and customers had gathered for the weekly auction that generally draws a crowd, Ryan said. On its Facebook page, Lynnway Auto Auctions said it consigns more than 2,000 cars for sale at 8:40 a.m. every Wednesday.

Read More</s>Three people were killed and at least 11 others were injured in what is believed to be an accidental car crash at an auto auction in Billerica, Massachusetts, the Middlesex County District Attorney's office, and Massachusetts State Police said.</s>iStock/Thinkstock(BOSTON) — Three people were killed and at least 11 others were injured in what is believed to be an accidental car crash at an auto auction in Billerica, Massachusetts, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office and Massachusetts State Police.

A witness said a jeep hit people standing inside the Lynnway Auto Auction as vehicles were lining up and then crashed through the wall of the building, ABC affiliate WCVB-TV in Boston reported.

“I heard a screeching of tires, and, I believe, a Jeep Cherokee went flying by me. In avoiding the cars, whoever was driving this vehicle hit several people,” said Woody Tuttle, an auto auction employee who witnessed the crash, told WCVB.

The State Police said in a news release that authorities believe the incident was an accident.

“At this point, there is no evidence or information to suggest the incident was caused by an intentional or terrorist act. All evidence and information at this time suggest an accidental cause,” the release stated.

Billerica is located about 24 miles northwest of Boston.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.</s>At least three people are dead and nine others were critically injured on Wednesday morning when a vehicle came crashing through the building of an auto action at 400 Charter Way in Billerica, Massachusetts, which is about 20 miles northwest of Boston, Fox 25 Boston reports.

Approximately 2,000 people were in attendance at Lynnway Auto Auction, a “resource for re-marketing used car needs,” when an unidentified elderly male driver of a blue 2006 Jeep Cherokee accelerated and lost control at around 10 a.m., plowing into a massive crowd and mowing down dozens of people.

A preliminary investigation at Lynnway Auto Auction indicates that the Billerica crash was accidental, and authorities do not suspect foul play, as there was no evidence of an attack. Initial reports disseminate that the driver, a Lynnway Auto Auction employee, may have had a medical emergency before the Billerica accident, but it has since been determined that as he was trying to avoid hitting a row of cars, he lost control. The driver slammed into a crowd of people before crashing into the auto action building.

Lynnway Auto Auction attendees stated that the SUV may have been traveling between 25 and 40 mph when the Billerica accident occurred. The vehicle crashed into a cement wall separating two garage doors with such force that it cracked.

Billerica Fire Chief Thomas Conway stated that firefighters were at the scene after the Billerica crash “trying to stabilize the building.”

Witnesses gave their accounts on what happened during the Billerica crash.

Geraldo Lima, 46, of Somerville, would have been among those who were killed or injured in the Billerica accident, but he was able to move out of the way just in time as the SUV flew by.

Lima added that after the Lynnway Auto Auction crash, “there was a lot of blood” and the Billerica crash victims began to scream and yell in agony while others ran to safety.

Woody Tuttle, a Lynnway Auto Auction employee, said, “We heard a bang or an explosion. It was almost like a bomb. The whole place just went silent, There were people just lying on the ground — a horrific, crazy, tragic situation.”

Doc Kagan, who regularly attends Lynnway Auto Auction, described the impact of the Billerica crash.

“It sounded like a bomb went off — people laying out on the floor in front of the car, people from the auction yelling for people to get outside. It was like a war zone. “It was waiting in line to be bought, and I don’t know if it was the one at the podium or it was one behind of it, whatever, all of a sudden I heard this huge — I thought it was a bomb — it went through the brick wall and it hit another car waiting to leave. There were people in front of it and people behind.”

Kegan was inside of the building when the Billerica crash took place, and he immediately ran outside as he was instructed to do.

He said, “The sight wasn’t right. Blood was coming out of someone’s head on the floor. Too bad from a day’s work, people are ending up getting injured, hurt or worse.”

When emergency medical services arrived at the scene, they performed CPR on several people who were injured in the Billerica crash. At least nine people were transported to local hospitals, where two people were listed in critical condition and a third person was undergoing surgery with “a long road ahead of them,” said Dr. Casper Reske-Nielsen.

At least three people, a man and two women believed to be between the ages of 30 and 60, were confirmed dead after the Billerica accident. They were transported to Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington. The driver of the SUV was not injured.

Lynnway Auto Auction is closed to the public.

Billerica and State Police are investigating the Billerica crash.</s>BILLERICA, Mass. — At least two people are dead and several people are injured after a car crashed into a Billerica auto auction Wednesday morning, WCVB reports.

The crash happened around 10:30 a.m. at 400 Charter Way in Billerica, at the Lynnway Auto Auction.

Dozens of emergency responders are on the scene.

According to the Lynnway Auto Auction’s website, there was an auction at 8:40 a.m. Wednesday.</s>Three people were killed and nine more were injured after a vehicle crashed through a Massachusetts auto auction building on Wednesday, officials said.The Middlesex County District Attorney confirmed the fatalities and injuries to ABC News.The crash occurred at around 10:15 a.m. at LynnWay Auto Auction in Billerica, about 20 miles northwest of BostonA witness said the vehicle suddenly accelerated and struck several people crowded round the auction block before it crashed through a wall of the building."I heard a screeching of tires, and, I believe, a Jeep Cherokee went flying by me," auction employee Woody Tuttle told WCVB-TV. "In avoiding the cars, whoever was driving this vehicle hit several people."Images from TV helicopters showed a vehicle covered in debris. Medics wheeled people out of the building on gurneys.Upon preliminary investigation, Massachusetts State Police said there was no evidence to suggest the crash was caused by an intentional or terrorist act."All evidence and information at this time suggests an accidental cause," the department said in a press release.</s>At least three people were killed when a car smashed through a crowded auto auction in Billerica, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, local media reported, and police said the incident was not related to terrorism.

The deadly crash at the Lynnway Auto Auction occurred when a Jeep Cherokee being shifted by an employee inside the building barreled into a crowd of buyers after 10 a.m. witnesses told Boston’s independent WHDH-TV.

The Massachusetts State Police said on Twitter that there were “fatalities among the multiple victims” but gave no details.

“At this point, there is no evidence or information to suggest the incident was caused by an intentional or terrorist act,” the police statement said.

In the past year, people inspired by Islamist militants have used vehicles to kill or injure civilians in Ohio, the French city of Nice, Berlin, London and Stockholm.

ABC affiliate WCVB-TV and WHDH said three people were killed and more than a dozen hurt. Police and fire spokesmen in Billerica, a Boston suburb, could not be reached for comment.

Television aerial footage showed the Jeep smashed through the concrete wall of the auction building, where about 1,500 people had gathered for the sale.

Woody Tuttle, an auto auction employee, told WCVB that people were standing inside the building between lanes of cars when the Jeep sped up.

“I heard a screeching of tires, and, I believe, a Jeep Cherokee went flying by me. In avoiding the cars, whoever was driving this vehicle hit several people,” Tuttle said.

WHDH quoted police as saying the driver was a man in his mid-70s who may have mistaken the brake and accelerator pedals.

Lynnway’s website bills the company as the largest auto auction in New England. A company Facebook posting just before the crash showed a photo of vehicles and said that cars were “lined up and ready for a beautiful Wednesday morning.”</s>BILLERICA, Mass. (AP) — District attorney says crash at Massachusetts auto auction building killed 3 people, injured 9 others.</s>BILLERICA, Mass. (AP) - The Latest on a vehicle that sped through an indoor auto auction in Massachusetts (all times local):

Authorities say three people have been killed in a crash at an indoor auto auction in Massachusetts and nine others have been injured.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan says the dead were one man and two women. She says two of the nine who were taken to hospitals suffered life-threatening injuries.

Massachusetts State Police say there is no evidence that Wednesday morning's crash inside the LynnWay Auto Auction in Billerica (bill-RICK'-uh) was intentional.

Ryan says investigators are working to reconstruct the accident.

Billerica (bihl-RIHK'-uh) is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Boston.

Massachusetts State Police confirm there are fatalities in the auto auction crash north of Boston, and they say there is no evidence the crash was intentional.

The state police statement doesn't say how many were killed or injured in Wednesday's crash inside the LynnWay Auto Auction in Billerica (bill-RICK'-uh), about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Boston.

Lahey Hospital and Medical Center says it is treating six injured people, and Lowell General Hospital says it has three others.

Witnesses say cars were lined up on the auction block when one vehicle suddenly accelerated. That vehicle struck several people inside before crashing through a wall.

A vehicle has crashed through a Massachusetts auto auction building, and medics are wheeling people out on gurneys.

The crash occurred Wednesday morning at LynnWay Auto Auction in Billerica (bill-RICK'-uh), about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Boston.

A witness tells WCVB-TV that cars were lined up on the auction block when one vehicle suddenly accelerated.

Employee Woody Tuttle says he heard tires screeching and saw the vehicle strike several people.

Tuttle told the station: "(The driver) avoided the cars and went on to hit the people who were standing between the cars."

Images from TV helicopters show a vehicle covered in debris that appears to have crashed through an exterior wall from inside the building.

Several ambulances were on the scene, and medics wheeled people out of the building on gurneys.</s>May 3 (Reuters) - Three people were killed and 10 hurt on Wednesday when a car being readied for sale was accidentally driven through a crowded auto auction in Billerica, Massachusetts, a prosecutor said.

An employee of Lynnway Auto Auction was moving a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee inside a warehouse when it barreled into a crowd of bidders shortly after 10 a.m. (1400 GMT), Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said.

Television aerial footage showed that the Jeep smashed through the concrete wall of the warehouse, where several hundred people had gathered for a weekly auction.

"The preliminary information that we have right now is that it was a tragic accident," Ryan told a news conference.

She said the driver was a man in his 70s, but declined to comment on media reports that he may have mistaken the brake and accelerator pedals.

A man and two women were killed, and 10 people were taken to hospitals, Ryan said. Two people had life-threatening injuries and eight were seriously hurt, she said.

Woody Tuttle, an auto auction employee, told ABC affiliate WCVB-TV that people were standing between lanes of cars when the Jeep raced through the auction building, which is the length of a football field.

"I heard a screeching of tires, and, I believe, a Jeep Cherokee went flying by me. In avoiding the cars, whoever was driving this vehicle hit several people," Tuttle said.

Lynnway's website bills the company as the largest auto auction in New England. A company Facebook posting just before the crash showed a photo of vehicles and said that cars were "lined up and ready for a beautiful Wednesday morning."

The Massachusetts State Police said in a statement, "There is no evidence or information to suggest the incident was caused by an intentional or terrorist act." (Reporting by Ian Simpson; editing by Grant McCool)
A car crash at an auto auction in Billerica, Massachusetts, kills at least three and injures nine, two critically.