A car slammed into a building near the corner of High Street and Walnut Street in Brookline around 8:09 p.m. Tuesday during a reported hit-and-run crash that involved two vehicles, at least one of which had an airbag deploy. Emergency crews responded to the scene, and traffic was diverted from the area as police worked to sort out what happened.
According to Boston 25 News, Brookline police said both cars involved in the reported hit-and-run have since been found, though it remains unclear which vehicle struck the building or what led up to the crash. The outlet's reporting, credited to Bryan Lambert, indicates there were no known injuries at the time of publication, though that detail has not been independently confirmed elsewhere. The story remains developing, and police have not released additional details about the drivers involved.
The crash adds to a string of hit-and-run incidents that have rattled the town in recent months. Brookline has seen at least two other incidents this year in which a driver reportedly fled the scene after a crash, per the same account from the Tuesday night incident and a separate case detailed below.
A Separate Crash Involving Fire and an Injured Suspect
In a different incident earlier this year, Brookline police said they received a call for a crash of a car into a tree at 5:49 a.m. on a Friday, according to NBC Boston. Police said that crash appeared to be a hit-and-run on Aspinwall Avenue at Toxeth, and the driver was reported to have fled the scene while the car was on fire. A possible suspect was later found injured a few blocks away and taken to Beth Israel for treatment, the station reported.
That January incident is not connected to Tuesday's crash at High and Walnut streets, but it illustrates a pattern local police have had to contend with: drivers leaving the scene of a crash before officers arrive. NBC Boston's reporting on the tree crash noted the driver had fled, a detail that echoes an older Brookline case as well.
A Pattern of Fleeing Drivers in Brookline
In a prior case, police said a driver was involved in three hit-and-run car crashes within about one hour across Brookline and Cambridge, according to NBC Boston. That earlier chain of crashes involved a 2007 Volkswagen Jetta that struck locations on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, on Harvard Street in Brookline, and a pedestrian crossing Pleasant Street in Brookline. A pedestrian was hit by the Jetta on Pleasant Street in Brookline. Police at the time said they believed the driver may also have been involved in another hit-and-run in Newton.
Brookline has also logged other recent crashes that, while not hit-and-runs, point to a busy stretch for local traffic incidents. A driver was cited after a three-vehicle accident near Walnut Street on Tuesday morning, June 30, 2026, with police and emergency services responding to the scene shortly after 10:15 a.m., according to Brookline, MA Patch. Separately, a crash reported by Brookline.News described two vehicles going airborne and destroying a sign outside a Beacon Street church.
No information has been released about the identities of the drivers involved in Tuesday night's crash, whether any citations or charges have been filed, or what caused the vehicle to strike the building. The extent of damage to the building itself has also not been detailed. Brookline police have not issued a further update as the investigation continues.
