Photo: The vehicle in front of the CVS.
A man was arrested, and a portion of Trapelo Road has been shut down by Belmont Police due to a potential hazardous material incident that occurred at approximately 1 p.m.
The arrested man has not be identified by Belmont Police nor has the charges against him.
Belmont Police stated on social media the main thoroughfare in Belmont will be closed from Slade to Walnut streets until 5 p.m. as state Hazardous Material personnel examine the late model sedan which came to rest in front of the CVS/Pharmacy at 264 Trapelo Rd.
“They came in and told us we have to leave,” said one CVS employee who wondered if she would be able to go back to the store before her shift ended at 3 p.m.
The store was evacuated soon after the accident and arrest.
According to Belmont Fire Chief David L. Frizzell, apparently the vehicle hit a newly-installed island that now runs along Trapelo Road, blowing out both driver side tires. As police officers arrived, they arrested the driver. They soon discovered a stash of chemicals in the back seat of the car.
Soon after Belmont Fire arrived – the incident occurred 100 feet from the fire department’s headquarters on Trapelo Road – the department called for state Haz Mat team to examine the vehicle.
Good job islands! Get drivers off the road who can’t “stay in the lines”. What if that were a car the driver had hit head-on from the other lane? The barriers are there for very, very good reasons – just like jersey barriers on the highway…
Taxpayer money for islands and not bike lanes. Good job, Belmont.
What ever happened? What were the chemicals? Why in the world was he driving such a bad car? So many questions to be answered
The islands don’t move, so if you hit one it’s definitely *your* fault, not the island’s.
Amen
Those islands are ridiculous.. They only serve to anger people who are caught in traffic, as far back as Cushing Sq. to Shaw’s supermarket!
I agree! Those islands are STUPID and a total WASTE of taxpayers hard earned money. They serve NO purpose other than to shrink the lanes even more. Have fun driving through Belmont in the winter. I’ll be finding a way around without having to drive through your STUPID town with STUPID islands that aren’t even attractive. WHAT A WASTE OF $$$!!!
Good job!
But remove these STUPID islands you’ve put up and down Trapelo Road! Whoever came up with this idea was not in their right mind! This is the beginning of many incidents with these stupid islands!!
Maybe the driver should pay attention to the road. Blaming the island is simply shifting blame. Classic.
Agreed. They’re making traffic worse, it’s harder to get around buses, and harder for emergency vehicles to get by. Sure they look nice but they are totally impractical and a waste of money.
Buses need to pull over into the bus stop – that is always an issue. Cars need to *not* park in the bus stops, so buses can do that. This design had a lot of community input and thorough evaluations done over a significant period of time but there have been poor changes that undermined that process and plan after the fact – both on the part of the MBTA and Belmont’s Community Development Department. Irregardless, islands work to calm traffic and make it safer for the neighborhoods, bus commuters, cyclists and pedestrians. Building wider roads just means increased speed and more cars.
I agree! Those island a are STUPID! They serve NO purpose and are a TOTAL WASTE of the taxpayers money!
I love those islands! It use to be when you were crossing Trapelo and a car stopped for you, you would have to check that another car wasn’t coming up behind and trying to pass them.
I knew those islands would be good for something