Massachusetts

‘I'm Very Upset': Driver in Fatal Auto Auction Crash Speaks

The driver behind the wheel in the deadly Lynnway Auto Auction crash is talking about the devastating accident for the first time.

The long-time employee, who is not being named by NBC Boston, said the Jeep he was driving inside the building suddenly raced out of control.

“Defective car that took off all by itself,” the driver said. “I didn’t make it go. I put it in drive and something in the car accelerated out of control - it took a fraction of a second."

Brenda Lopez, 48, and Pantaleon Santos, 49, both of Rhode Island, died at the scene, and 36-year-old Leezandra Aponte of Lowell, Massachusetts, was pronounced dead later at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, according to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan.

Seven men and a woman who were injured in the crash have been treated and released from area hospitals, but a 55-year-old man is still hospitalized with serious injuries.

“I’m very upset, and very unhappy and very sorry about what happened and who got hurt,” the driver said Friday night.

The driver says he had broken bones in his arm and leg.

He’s now recuperating at home.

NBC Boston learned Friday that the driver's license had actually been suspended, but he said he had no idea.

“It was in my pocket, but I don’t look at it daily to see what the dates are on it,” he said.

The president of the Lynnway Auto Auction, Jim Lamb, said the company checks licenses when drivers are first hired, but there is no follow-up. It’s up to drivers to tell the company if there is an issue with their license.

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