Sunday, October 23, 2011

ATV Rider Faces Charges After MBTA Crash

(Gloucester Times 9/20/11)

An MBTA commuter train collided with an all-terrain vehicle on the tracks just north of the Route 128 Extension overpass in Gloucester this morning. But the rider, a Gloucester man who jumped from the vehicle, escaped injury.

According to reports, the man — now identified by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority as Robert Hovis, 40, of Warner Street, Gloucester — was riding his ATV on the tracks at around 10 a.m. then tried to bring his ATV up onto an adjacent hill, only to have the vehicle slide back down.

Hovis then jumped off the ATV as the train approached, and the train slammed into the ATV.

The train, which was inbound from Rockport and carrying about two dozen passengers, was detained for about an hour, and the MBTA posted that riders could expect delays of between 45 minutes and an hour on the Rockport line. But service has now fully restored.

Gloucester police established a command post on the southbound side of the Extension just south of Blackburn Circle, and MBTA security police also responded to the scene. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said Hovis is being charged by transit police with trespassing on a railroad right-of-way; he is also expected to face charges from Massachusetts Environmental Police.

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