DEVENS — The driver of a truck that crashed into a psychiatric hospital in Devens before bursting into flames early Wednesday morning has passed away.
According to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, just after 5:30 a.m., first responders located the truck, which had crashed into an administrative building at TaraVista Behavioral Health Center.
Located at 85 Patton Road, TaraVista Behavioral Health Center is a hospital that provides psychiatric care to children and adults.
According to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, the driver and lone occupant of the truck was found deceased at the scene. None of those who were inside the behavioral health center at the time of the crash were injured.
TRUCK CRASHES INTO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CENTER.
— Penny Kmitt (@pennylikeacoin) April 10, 2024
A pickup truck crashed into TaraHealth Bevavioral Health Center in Devens. The crash then ignited a fire on the side of the building.
Updates to come on @wbz. pic.twitter.com/rhzEJR0TpE
“Patients and staff are all accounted for and unharmed,” Francis Sauvageau, TaraVista’s CEO said during a press conference Wednesday morning. “At no time were they in any danger.”
Sauvageau said that the administration building hit by the truck is structurally sound and the facility is still treating patients. He added that the facility will begin accepting new patients again on Thursday.
Although the specific details of the incident are still being investigated by the State Police Detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, a law enforcement source informed NBC10 Boston that the act seems to have been intentional, and the driver involved had a family member who was previously treated at the facility.
According to its website, TaraVista Behavioral Health’s Devens facility, which opened in 2016, has a “catchment” area that extends from Worcester and Middlesex counties into Southern New Hampshire.
TaraVista Behavioral Health currently holds a 2.9-star rating on Google, based on 193 reviews. Reviews of the facility run the gamut from “A wonderful facility with fantastic doctors, nurses, therapists, and social workers” to “90% of the people who work here do not care and treat their patients like dogs.”
The identity of the driver has not been released yet.
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