A homeless man faced a judge Friday for allegedly striking a woman with a stolen pickup truck outside the Boston Public Garden on Thursday afternoon.
Keith Andrade, 58, was allowed to hide his face during his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court where he faced charges of larceny of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle without a license, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in personal injury.
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Police were called to the intersection of Boylston and Charles streets across from the Four Seasons hotel, at 4:23 p.m. Thursday, officials said.
Witnesses said a bystander with medical training came to help the screaming victim, who police said was taken to Tufts Medical Center with multiple fractures and a serious head injury.
The woman had been hit by the stolen pickup truck, police said. The black vehicle also crashed into and damaged an entrance gate of the garden, and it remained at the scene behind police tape hours later.
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The driver ran off on foot, police said.
"I heard the screeching of tires, and I looked up and I saw the black pickup truck jump the curb then smash into the fence and posts, and I heard a woman screaming and immediately dialed 911," eyewitness Donald Saarela said.
"I saw someone bolt from the car, really fast," said Paul Kilrain. "Running."
Kilrain said he was on the eighth floor of the Four Seasons Hotel when he saw what happened from the window.
"My sense was somebody hit somebody and took off," he said.
Andrade was later arrested at Downtown Crossing when he was allegedly recognized from surveillance video. He told police he wasn't involved, according to investigators.
"He denied entering or driving off in the pickup truck. He denied striking the pedestrian," Andrade's attorney said.
Police said the pickup truck was stolen from the Boylston Street fire station and belongs to a firefighter who was on duty.
Andrade is being held on $20,000 cash bail. It's unclear when he's due back in court.
