Driver of SUV that crashed into a Massachusetts Apple store accelerated to 60 mph before deadly crash, prosecutor says
By Rob Frehse and Nouran Salahieh, CNN
A man accused of driving an SUV into a Hingham, Massachusetts, Apple store last year — killing one person and injuring 22 others — now faces more than two dozen additional charges, including second-degree murder, as prosecutors say there were no signs the brakes were applied before the deadly crash.
Bradley Rein, 53, drove up onto a sidewalk on November 21, 2022 crashed through the store’s glass door, went across the sales floor and slammed into a rear wall, striking and killing a 65-year-old construction worker who was in his path, Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney David Cutshall said in court.
Rein was arrested in the immediate aftermath of the crash at the Derby Street Shops outdoor mall and pleaded not guilty to one charge of reckless homicide by motor vehicle. He now faces a host of new charges after a grand jury voted to indict him late last month on murder in the second degree and motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation.
The panel also indicted Rein on 18 counts of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, as well as reckless operation of a motor vehicle, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office.
Rein pleaded not guilty to the new charges in court on Monday.
Rein — who prosecutors say had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of the crash — told police his right foot got stuck on the accelerator pedal and he was pressing on the brake with his other foot but couldn’t stop the vehicle from crashing into the store, Cutshall said.
Electronic data downloaded from the SUV showed in the five seconds leading up to the crash, Rein’s vehicle accelerated to 60 mph, the prosecutor said.
“There was no indication of brake application during those five seconds,” Cutshall told the court.
An inspection of the vehicle also revealed “no mechanical defects that could have contributed to this crash,” Cutshall said, though, noting a police collision analysis and reconstruction report has not yet been finalized.
Rein’s defense attorney told CNN the crash was an accident, and the vehicle has not yet been fully examined.
“This was an accident. There was no intent,” defense attorney Joan Fund told CNN. “I am astonished by the second-degree murder charge. The accident reconstruction report has not been completed, the vehicle has not been fully examined due to the damage to the vehicle, and the data recording has contradictory information, and I look forward to litigating this in court.”
The crash fueled numerous 911 calls and led to a large law enforcement response, with the Hingham fire chief describing first responders finding people “pinned against the wall by the vehicle.”
Most of the 22 who were injured in the incident had serious injuries and were taken to local hospitals, Cutshall said. The man killed in the crash was identified as Kevin Bradley of New Jersey.
“Obviously, at this point, there’s allegations of intentional conduct so that’s something we’ll have to deal with,” Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz told CNN affiliate WCVB. “We will make sure that there’s justice for Mr. Bradley, there’s justice for all the people whose lives were changed and altered forever.”
Rein — who previously posted $100,000 bail — will be fitted with a GPS tracking device and was ordered to surrender his passport. He was also ordered not to leave the state without approval and told he can’t possess any weapons or operate a motor vehicle, as conditions of his bail, according to the district attorney’s office.
He is scheduled to be back in court on June 21.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
CNN’s Zenebou Sylla contributed to this report.
