Fifth person dies after Massachusetts auto auction crash

[May 15, 2017]    (Reuters) - A fifth person has died from his injuries following a crash at a Massachusetts auto auction earlier this month, when a SUV being readied for sale smashed through a concrete wall and into a crowd of bidders.

Ruben Espaillat, 55, died at a local hospital on Saturday, 10 days after the crash at the Lynnway Auto Auction in Billerica, about 20 miles northwest of Boston, on May 3, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement.

"Our thoughts our with his family and friends," said Ryan, whose office is investigating the collision.

Two women and a man died on the day of the crash and 10 people were injured. Elliott Rowlands Jr., 50, died on Wednesday, and was the fourth fatality, Ryan said..

The district attorney's office is investigating why the 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was being moved by an auction employee, suddenly accelerated and plowed through a concrete wall into a warehouse where hundreds of bidders gathered.

A preliminary investigation indicated the incident at Lynnway was an accident, Ryan and the Massachusetts State Police have said. Lynnway bills itself as the largest auto auction in New England.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by Frank McGurty and Jeffrey Benkoe)

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