Deadly Apple Store car crash was an accident, driver claims

The man who crashed through the Apple Derby Street retail store in Massachusetts, killing one, has said in his defense that the incident was not an attack, and was instead an "unfortunate accident."

Bradley Rein, 52, drove his Toyota 4Runner through the front glass of the Apple Store in Hingham, Massachusetts, on Monday morning. The car crashed through the glass at speed, and only stopped when it hit the Store's rear wall.

According to MassLive, was in court Tuesday morning, facing charges of reckless motor vehicle homicide. Rein reportedly claims that his foot became stuck on the gas and that he was unable to brake in time.

Rein's defense attorney, who described the incident as an "unfortunate accident," requested bail be set at $20,000. The Hingham District Court instead set bail at $100,000.

Following the crash, Rein was reportedly uninjured — although earlier witness reports said he was bloodied. He went with officers to the Hingham Police Department, where he voluntarily undertook a breathalyzer test which was negative.

MassLive reports that at least 20 people were severely injured. Doctors at South Shore Hospital treated 17 people — others were taken to hospital in Boston — and described the injuries as "life and limb-threatening."

The injuries include head traumas and what are described as "mangled limbs." The crash also killed Kevin Bradley, a 65-year-old New Jersey man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Rein told officers he had no medical issues, and that to the best of his knowledge, his car had no mechanical faults.

31 Comments

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

About 2 years ago

If the vehicle is a recent model it will have the equivalent of a black box and we’ll see if his story holds up. And of course Apple will be sued for failing to protect its customers and employees. To crash through the glass entry and stop only when it hit the rear wall, as the article points out, that car must have been moving really quick. The investigators will be crawling up his rear to see if he has any history with Apple, good or bad.

DAalseth 3048 comments · 6 Years

I believe him. This has all the hallmarks of a driver doing something stupid and losing control, rather than someone that was in control and deliberately did something bad. I’ve seen a of of accidents over the years where the drivers claimed to have been pressing on the brake, only it was the gas pedal. Oh he’s still liable for everything, including the vehicular homicide, the courts will sort that out. But at heart I don’t think this was deliberate.

M68000 882 comments · 7 Years

lkrupp said:

If the vehicle is a recent model it will have the equivalent of a black box and we’ll see if his story holds up. And of course Apple will be sued for failing to protect its customers and employees.

Further, do they have video of where the vehicle started from? Where was this guy, in a straight line or were turns involved also?

plymouthpatsfan 33 comments · 2 Years

M68000 said:

lkrupp said:

If the vehicle is a recent model it will have the equivalent of a black box and we’ll see if his story holds up. And of course Apple will be sued for failing to protect its customers and employees.

Further, do they have video of where the vehicle started from? Where was this guy, in a straight line or were turns involved also?

been there so many times and I drive a 4Runner. if he was going 60MPH when he hit the glass he had a maximum 330 foot start (according to Google Earth) from Crate and Barrel across the parking lot. 4Runner is 0-60 in 7.7 seconds. I'm just saying.. that thing was floored for 100 yards? I dunno, man.