A DONEGAL Town man has spoken of his horror as he witnessed the double bomb blast at the finishing line of the Boston marathon yesterday
Chris Cassidy, a political journalist with the Boston Herald, had just completed the marathon when the first explosion took place. Three people were killed and more than 140 injured in the atrocity.
“The first explosion sounded like cannon fire,” he said.
“I saw a cloud of grey smoke rise up in front of me near the Boston Marathon finish line and an army of police in yellow jackets race toward it.
“My first reaction — which now seems incredibly naive — was that some kids were playing a prank, maybe setting off fireworks.”
Chris went on: “I had just crossed the 26-mile marker — dedicated to the victims of the Newtown, Conn., shootings. Nothing was going to keep me from that finish line — just two-tenths of a mile away, I thought to myself.
“Then I heard the second explosion behind me and saw not only pieces of a trash can blown away but casualties.
“That blast rattled me. This now seemed to be an organized attack, and I immediately thought a third explosion would be next. And for few moments, I was terrified.”
He said that absolutely nothing he experienced can compare to what the injured and victims went through yesterday.
“It was the only time in my life I thought there was a real chance I was going to die — or at least get struck by flying debris from a third blast that never came,” said Chris.
“Near the site of the second blast, I saw several severely injured spectators. I saw a woman bleeding from her forehead and drops of blood on the sidewalk on the opposite side of Boylston Street from the second blast.
“Another woman lying on the ground was being attended to by a Boston police officer. A pair of brown women’s boots lay in the street.
“Police and hotel staff now were pushing everyone away from the finish line. That’s how my ninth Boston Marathon ended.
“I never did finish the race. Within seconds of the second blast, I saw several runners around me high-jump the metal railings — no easy task after running 26 miles — and evacuate the course.
“Wearing a race singlet and possessing only a cellphone with a nearly dead battery, I climbed over a toppled railing and scurried into Copley Place Mall. I was joined there by other fleeing runners and spectators, while unsuspecting shoppers blithely strolled past a food court.”
The Donegal man said that inside the mall they were all told to stay inside.
“I then thought about my teammates, several of whom were near me at the time of the blasts. But I didn’t see any of them after everyone scattered. One of my friends who was on a patio on Boylston had just yelled out to me seconds before the explosions. I soon learned everyone was OK. I feel lucky.
“Time to get whoever did this,” he added.