Hingham apple store crash: 1 dead, 16 hospitalized

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“This morning was an unthinkable morning.”

One man was killed and 16 other people hospitalized after a driver crashed an SUV into an Apple store in Hingham on Monday morning, authorities said.

First responders received multiple 911 calls around 10:45 a.m. reporting a driver had crashed a vehicle through the store’s front window, located in the Derby Street Shops, according to Hingham Police Chief David Jones.

Authorities declined to provide information about the driver of the vehicle later Monday. But Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said he was not among the injured people initially taken to hospitals and was with police officers on Monday afternoon as investigators conducted a criminal investigation.

“This morning was an unthinkable morning, and people are trying to get through it and process what happened,” Cruz said during a press conference at the scene. “This investigation is active and ongoing.”

Cruz told reporters the initial investigation indicated the driver of a dark-colored SUV drove through the store’s glass-paneled facade and struck multiple people. Authorities had not yet determined how fast the driver was traveling at the time of the crash, he said.

First responders found multiple victims in front of the store and a few who were pinned between a wall and the SUV, according to Hingham Fire Chief Steve Murphy.

One witness, a woman who identified herself as Ann, told NBC10 Boston she heard a “very loud bang.”

“We jumped up from the table and we looked out the window and we could see the hole in the Apple store,” she told the outlet.

“My heart goes out to all the employees of Apple and all the customers that were in that store because nobody should be dealing with this holiday week — nobody,” she added.

Multiple bystanders and off-duty hospital staffers provided initial first aid as crews responded to the scene, Murphy said. In all, 14 ambulances transported patients, with 14 people brought to South Shore hospitals and two people brought to facilities in Boston, officials said.

Murphy was unable to provide information on the condition of the hospitalized victims. Cruz declined to provide identifying information about the man who was killed, citing the need to notify next of kin.

“Right now, family members have been notified or are in the process of being notified. They’re gathering nearby to get information,” Cruz said. “And obviously, needless to say, employees are working in that store and nearby visibly shaken and they’re assembling nearby.”

Cruz called the incident “absolutely unthinkable.”

“It’s absolutely tragic,” he said. “We’re going to make sure that like I said, we’re gonna go slow and steady with this and get the information as we get it.”

According to Murphy, following an evaluation, the Hingham building commissioner and Plymouth County Technical Rescue Team had no concerns about the building’s structural integrity following the crash, but officials were continuing to monitor conditions nonetheless.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday afternoon.