Was it an emergency? Boston Mayor Wu speaks after cruiser she was in goes through red light, crashes

BOSTON — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu addressed the public for the first time Wednesday after a police cruiser she was riding in crashed on the way to an engagement on Tuesday.

“We were coming from Roslindale to an engagement at the Copley Library, which I didn’t end up making it to,” said Wu. “It was not an emergency yesterday to where we were headed.”

According to the police report, the Boston officer operating Wu’s department vehicle, a Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV, was headed down Blakemore Street just before 10 a.m. with lights and sirens activated. The traffic light was red as the cruiser approached Hyde Park Avenue.

The police report indicates that the cruiser then stopped at the red light before “slowly approaching the two-lane intersection to make a left turn onto Hyde Park Ave.”

You can see in the video obtained by Boston 25 News at least one vehicle in the first lane of traffic stops as Wu’s vehicle emerges into the intersection. A second vehicle, a black 2019 Honda CR-V was traveling in the second lane on Hyde Park Ave when it collided with the driver’s side of Wu’s vehicle. The vehicle is carrying a mother and a child.

“The officer was unable to avoid the collision due to vehicle #1′s fast approach and did not slow down for the cruiser’s lights and sirens,” according to the crash report.

However, the video indicates the driver of the Honda may not have been able to see.

“I was on my phone and not seeing what was really happening as the lights were turned on in that intersection,” said Wu on Wednesday.

Video shows cruiser driving Boston Mayor Michelle Wu appears to cause crash after running red light

Luckily, the mother and child in the other vehicle along with Wu and her driver were not seriously injured. However, Wu stated to responding officers that she “felt minor pain to her right side but declined medical attention at the scene.”

The officer operating the cruiser was transported from the scene for further evaluation after stating she “felt pains to the left side of her body,” according to the crash report.

A neighbor sent photos to Boston 25 showing the aftermath of the crash which shows Wu and the officer consoling the mother and child of the other vehicle involved. The crash report indicated both the mother and child also declined medical attention at the scene.

“I know my team and the officers who are on our detail team are of the utmost professionalism and training. I have full faith in the care and diligence with which they do their job of not just getting me around the city but any person, so all of that will be under review,” said Mayor Wu.

There is an investigation into whether Wu’s driver broke any department policy.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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