BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS — An unoccupied tractor-trailer hauling a large mobile generator rolled across Wood Road and crashed through the wall of a commercial building housing Pure Hockey and Widowmaker Brewing Company on Friday afternoon after its brakes failed, leaving a hole in the structure extending nearly to the roof and threatening a partial collapse — though somehow nobody was hurt.
The crash occurred around 3:30 p.m. Surveillance video from the brewery captured the truck crossing the road before slamming into the building. The truck was a mobile generator being used by a nearby metal manufacturer and was not being driven at the time of the incident.
Braintree Fire Chief Freddie Viola said the building was left structurally compromised and crews spent hours assessing it before attempting removal. “We are extremely lucky because the truck came across the road and went into a place that typically people are working. And they weren’t — they were on the front side, the retail side, down in the warehouse, so that is the good news.”
The Norfolk County Technical Rescue Team was activated, with four members of the Franklin Fire Department among those responding. Crews warned that part of the front of the building could come down when the truck was pulled out. The truck was removed around 10 p.m. Afterward the building frame, supported by cribbing, appeared to remain in place.
Widowmaker Brewing General Manager Keith Piesco said he had never seen anything like it. “I’d never seen that before. Like I’ve seen that on the news, but I’ve never seen that in person.” Rather than shut down entirely for the day, the brewery moved outside and continued serving customers on the patio — and still drew a crowd.
“We saw a giant truck smashed into the building, and they were still selling beers, so we came,” one customer said.
Wood Road was partially closed while crews worked the scene. The cause of the brake failure is under investigation.
Interviews courtesy of local media.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
