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Drone falls and injures 2 at Celtics watch party at City Hall Plaza
The drone operator told police he is a CNN employee.
Two people at the Celtics opening night watch party at City Hall Plaza were injured by a falling drone on Tuesday night, police say.
At about 8:02 p.m., a Boston police officer assisted two injured bystanders who were hit by the drone, according to a police report. Several media outlets have reported that three people were actually injured.
An officer had observed the drone strike a light pole and fall on the victims, police said.
A male victim said he had pain in his right hand, which was bleeding, and a female victim said she had “significant pain on her head, neck, and left shoulder area,” the report says.
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Boston EMS responded to the scene, and the event continued despite the injuries.
Police said the operator of the drone told officers that while piloting the drone and taking video footage of the stage performance, he accidentally flew it between two trees and hit a light pole, which caused it to crash.
The drone operator said he is an employee of CNN, according to the report. The Mavic 3 drone was recovered and returned to the vice president of tech operations for CNN.
The incident occurred at the hours-long free event that lasted from 4:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fans watched the Celtics beat the New York Knicks 132-109, as well as live performances by Shaboozey and Benson Boone.
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In a statement, a TNT events spokesperson acknowledged that there was an “incident involving a drone and fans attending last night’s event.”
“On-site medical and safety personnel immediately attended to the situation,” the statement said. “We are currently investigating further and wish all involved well.”
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