Deb Geisler reports on an only-in-Boston maneuver on Storrow Drive during the outbound rush hour yesterday involving somebody in the right lane who'd just realized he'd missed that weird left exit for Copley after the tunnel:

... Car comes to a dead stop, backs up on Storrow Drive, re-aligns himself, and makes a 90ish-degree turn across two lanes of traffic and a rumble strip to get off the road. ...

Two motorcyclists spin out, crash early this morning - as the rest of their pack drives off without stopping.

Photo by Juldea

They might just decide to smash their moving van into the Longfellow Bridge and spill your belongings all over Storrow Drive. And then charge your credit card before you can file a claim against them.

Earlier: An eyewitness account from someone standing on the bridge when it happened, and comments from Universal Hubsters. Also more photos at Flickr.

An over-height truck crashed into the bridge, spilling its load all over Storrow Drive. Juldea was all shook up while walking on the bridge, but had the presence of mind to take some photos.

Follow-up, 6/12/08: Truck belonged to a moving company that was supposed to move a Beacon Hill resident's belongings to California.

Teddy Kokoros spotted this walking platter next to Storrow Drive near the Harvard Bridge this morning.

UPDATE: Driver charged.

A box truck driver says he blacked out around 7:15 this morning, causing a multi-vehicle collision that ended in explosions and the shutdown of the intersection of Comm. Ave. and Brighton Ave. - and, of course, Green Line service through the area.

Channel 4 has video of a car fireball. Helicopter video. Ilovesashimi posts a couple of photos. Harry Mattison posts a couple as well. Channel 5 reports.

Meanwhile, an 18-wheeler hit the BU Bridge while on Storrow Drive but managed to get off the road without causing major damage, according to our friends at Traffic on the 3s.

Shane reports on a rare event on Storrow Drive during yesterday morning's commute: TWO stuck trucks, one eastbound, just past the Doubletree, one westbound, near the Hatch Shell.

The Urban Paramedic recounts a roll-over smashup on Storrow Drive, involving a guy who stopped looking at the speedometer when it broke 100:

... "I'll get the immobilization stuff," I said to my partner. Anybody going that fast must be presumed injured until x-rays and a CT scan prove otherwise.

Soon we had him strapped to the board in the back of the ambulance. Incredibly, he didn't have a scratch on his face. "He's bleeding from someplace," one of the EMTs said. "There's blood on his pants."

The man was cooperative but extremely hyperactive. He kept trying to sit up. As I gently pulled him back down, I saw blood on his hand. Turning it over, I saw a series of parallel slice marks on his wrist. His other wrist had similar cuts.

"Did you cut your wrists on purpose?" I asked.

"Why, yes," he said, smiling the way some people do when they're drunk. ...

John Daley is liking the proposal to shut Storrow Drive on Sunday mornings:

... It's a good idea. Every Sunday will be the Fourth of July. ...

Some of us, of course, would prefer to see Storrow shut permanently.

With the Storrow Drive tunnel project on temporary hold, Mike Mennonno hopes officials (and he's looking at you, Mayor Menino) use the time to come up with more permanent solutions that don't keep putting the needs of commuters ahead of residents:

... We're emerging from a half-century in which flight from the city was the norm. You can see the scars of this disregard for city neighborhoods everywhere in them, as they were sacrificed to escape routes from them. A new vision is needed for Boston, and quick fixes to Storrow Drive every few years that disrupt the life of Back Bay and destroy--even if temporarily--a haven that has taken generations now to build should not be part of it. Period.

As long as road construction and automobile transportation remain a priority over conservation and alternative and public transportation in Boston, we'll be fighting these battles forever. And in the end, no one wins the war.

Earlier:
Shut Storrow Drive!