Strong winds knock out power to thousands, cause damage across the state

BOSTON — Nasty winds left their mark across the state on Friday as the powerful gusts downed trees, knocked out power to thousands and even sent trash cans flying in the streets.

As of Friday night, over 80,000 customers were without power due to the winds which only started to die down later into the evening.

While most of the state experienced mother nature’s strength and power, a lot of damage was reported in cities and towns such as Abington, Braintree, Mansfield, Quincy, Easton and East Bridgewater - but it was not contained to the South Shore.

Trees came crashing down on houses and cars, and many ended up on power lines, resulting in widespread power outages that will likely last into Saturday morning.

In Boston, winds ripped through the West End, blowing construction materials near the TD Garden and injuring a man. He was transported to a local hospital, but there is no word yet on his condition.

In Norwell, a pine tree toppled onto a home, crashing onto a car in the driveway. A similar scene unfolded in Mansfield where a tree fell across the road, causing a roadblock for drivers. Two people suffered minor injuries as a result.

Trees blew over, taking down power lines in Hopedale.

A car in Braintree was pinned underneath a pine tree that smashed right across its front windshield, and another tree in Abington come crashing down across the street.

In Dedham, a giant tree fell on top of a car, crushing it. Neighbors said they were concerned because it was such an old tree that some said they had, in the past, asked the town to take it down.

“Oh my god I hope I can get home I have a car full of groceries and I just can’t believe it - it’s so scary that it’s so close,” said Gina Fico, of Dedham. "But thank God it didn’t fall on anybody.”

Utility crews across Massachusetts have been working to get power back up and running for all the customers left in the dark, but there’s no set timeline in how long it’s going to take for power to be fully restored.

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