3 cars catch fire in Boston’s Ted Williams Tunnel

BOSTON – Three cars caught fire in the Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston after a crash Friday afternoon. It happened shortly after 4 p.m. on the HOV ramp from I-93 north to I-90 east.

A witness told WBZ-TV she heard several loud bangs, a pause, then several more. She also reported seeing people running out of the tunnel and another witness said debris fell on her car.

Boston firefighters quickly extinguished two of the burning cars. The third was a hybrid, which took longer to extinguish, according to Boston Fire.

There were six people in the cars. Three people were transported to the hospital by Boston EMS. State police said several people were treated for smoke inhalation.

Michael Cram was inside the tunnel at the time. “All of a sudden you saw flames,” Cram said.

“When we found it, it was already on fire,” Cram said. “There were two cars in front of us still squealing into the right lane to pass them and at that point the fire started spreading so we stopped, all the cars stopped…I didn’t know if there were still people trying to get out and then I started walking towards her, then the explosion started, I went back to the car, everyone started backing away.”

Two ramps closed after a fire

The fire paralyzed traffic at the start of the holiday weekend.

The eastbound HOV ramp and Frontage Road ramp were closed for nearly six hours following the fire. All debris was removed and the ramps were reopened at 10 p.m. MassDOT said the tunnel needed only minor repairs after the fire.

Massport advised drivers to use Route 1A to get to Logan Airport while the ramps were closed.