A driver was rushed to a trauma center after their vehicle crashed into a garage on Gazebo Circle in Reading, rolled onto its side, and left the person trapped inside until firefighters could cut them free. The crash unfolded on Gazebo Circle, turning a quiet residential driveway into the scene of a tense extrication and structural safety check.
According to Boston 25 News, the Reading Fire Department dispatched crews to Gazebo Circle just after 8:30 p.m. Saturday, September 19, for a reported rollover crash. What began as a standard rollover call escalated quickly once dispatchers received updated information that the vehicle had actually rolled into a building with someone trapped inside, according to Reading Firefighters Local 1640. Crews arriving on scene found the vehicle on its side inside the garage, with the driver still pinned inside, the outlet's report notes.
Firefighters Race to Free Trapped Driver
Firefighters worked together to free the driver from the wreckage while simultaneously assessing the stability of the damaged structure, per the same account from Boston 25 News. Crews provided scene safety and advanced medical care throughout the extrication before the driver was ultimately removed from the vehicle and transported to a trauma center for treatment. The station's report does not specify the driver's current condition.
Handling the technical rescue meant pulling resources away from routine coverage elsewhere in town. Reading fire crews relied on mutual aid from neighboring departments to handle other calls across town during the Gazebo Circle extrication, while Reading police handled scene security, according to Reading Firefighters Local 1640.
Building Commissioner Called In to Check Structural Damage
Once the driver was clear, firefighters worked with the Reading building commissioner to evaluate the structural damage to the garage before the vehicle was removed from the building, Boston 25 News reports. The property was ultimately turned over to management for further repairs and hazard mitigation, per the Boston 25 News account.
A listing for one condominium unit on Gazebo Circle describes it as built in 1996, with single-level living and deeded garage parking, according to Commonwealth Standard Realty Advisors. Reading's traffic and parking regulations include a 12-foot clearance reference for fire lanes, according to the Town of Reading.
A Second Rollover in the Same Week
The cause of the Gazebo Circle crash remains under investigation.
Vehicle-into-building crashes like this one are far from rare nationally. Research compiled by the Storefront Safety Council indicates such collisions happen roughly 100 times a day across the United States, causing an estimated 16,000 injuries and 2,600 fatalities annually. The group's research also found that pedal confusion — mistakenly pressing the accelerator instead of the brake — accounts for roughly half of unintentional vehicle-into-building crashes, with driver error disproportionately affecting drivers under 20 and over 70.
Massachusetts law also outlines what happens next for the driver involved. Under M.G.L. Chapter 90, Section 26, any driver in a crash causing injury or more than $1,000 in property damage must file a Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report with the Registry of Motor Vehicles and local police within five days, according to Ballin Law. Separately, state law under M.G.L. c. 90 Section 22(a) allows police to file an “Immediate Threat” complaint that lets the Registry suspend a driver's license indefinitely while a crash investigation is pending, per the Serpa Law Office. It is not known whether either provision applies in this case.
The Gazebo Circle crash involved a vehicle striking a residential property in Reading.
