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AUCTION HEADLINES

Fatal Crash Puts Auction Safety Back in Spotlight

BY JOHN IRWIN, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

A deadly crash at a Massachusetts auto a member, has tried to address those con- NAAA CEO Frank Hackett declined to
auction has brought a recurring question cerns through safety training and awards comment for this article, citing the sensitive
back into the spotlight: How can bustling, programs designed to reward auctions with nature of the crash and the ongoing police
cramped auctions be kept safe? high safety standards. investigation.

Five people were killed and many more NAAA President Jerry Hinton told Auto- The crash occurred during Lynn-way's
were hospitalized with serious injuries as motive News last year that safety was a top weekly Wednesday dealer auction, which
a result of the crash last week at Lynnway priority for the auction group, citing the Ryan said "several hundred" people attend-
Auto Auction Inc. in North Billerica, Mass., implementation of a program created by ed.
about 25 miles northwest of Boston. KAR Auction Services Inc. as a standard
across the association's membership. A witness told WCVB-TV in Boston that
Police say an employee, identified by Mid- the driver "avoided the cars and went on to
dlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan as The training program is designed to teach hit the people standing between the cars."
in his 70s, was driving a 2006 Jeep Grand auctions how to prevent and deal with sit-
Cherokee in an auction lane when the vehi- uations ranging from distracted attendees "Three [men] were on the ground being
cle suddenly accelerated to "a very high rate walking into vehicle lanes, to higher-risk tended to," Lynnway employee Woody Tut-
of speed," striking several attendees before situations, including even an active shoot- tle told WCVB. "There was a woman who
crashing through a concrete wall. er on auction property. Hinton pledged to was crying, but she was standing up, and I
have 12,000 auction employees certified as saw two men on the ground who appeared
A preliminary investigation revealed no having completed the safety program by the to be dead."
evidence of an intentional act or terrorism, end of 2016.
police said. As of press time, the cause of The driver crashing through the wall
the crash was unclear. "A lot of auctions like Manheim created sounded like "an explosion," another wit-
their own safety elements, but this dovetails ness said.
The crash has raised questions among some together to provide a lot of [independently
about safety at auto auctions, where hun- owned auction companies] with something "It was almost like a bomb," auction attend-
dreds of dealers and others mingle in close that would have been very costly to devel- ee Randy Miller told WCVB. "The whole
proximity to vehicles that continually drive op themselves," Hinton said in the October place just went silent. There were people
through several lanes throughout the auc- interview. just lying on the ground -- a horrific, crazy,
tion day. tragic situation." n

Over the past few years, the National Auto A voicemail left for Hinton seeking com-
Auction Association, of which Lynnway is ment for this article was not returned.

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