Pickup Truck Smashes into Taco Loco

A pickup truck crashed into the side of in East Somerville early Sunday morning, smashing through two brick walls and forcing the popular restaurant to close.

The incident, at 44 Broadway, occurred at about 4:40 a.m., according to Deputy Chief Paul Upton of Somerville Police. When police arrived, nobody was in the truck, he said.

"The operator of the truck allegedly fled to Sullivan Square" in Charlestown, said Upton.

Soon afterward, State Police found an injured person at the Sullivan Square T station, and that person was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital by ambulance.

The incident is still under investigation, said Upton, and no one has been charged yet.

Closed for at least a week
Meanwhile, Taco Loco has been closed by Somerville Inspectional Services so that an engineer can assess structural damage to the building, according to Michael Meehan, a spokesperson for the city of Somerville.

If the structure is safe, the goal would be to re-open the restaurant for takeout orders next week, Meehan said, noting that the kitchen was not damaged, but the seating area was.

Somerville Patch called and left a message with the owner of the building, but he was reportedly in meetings and did not return the call by the time this post was published.

Second car-smash-into-restaurant incident on same night
The accident at Taco Loco is eerily similar to another incident that took place about five hours earlier, late Saturday night, in Union Square. In that inc, forcing the esteemed eatery to close for at least two to three weeks.

Coincidence: demolished by demolition truck
Currently at Taco Loco, plywood boards are covering the large hole created by the incident. There is a photo of the accident posted to the restaurant's door. It depicts a pickup truck with its entire front end smashed through the wall. 

Coincidentally, writing on the side of the pickup truck reads "Demolition." 

The name and number printed on the side of the truck is associated with a company called KAAT Services Demolition, which has a website that says the business is based out of Revere.

When Somerville Patch called that phone number, the man who picked up said KAAT Services is no longer in business and the truck in question was part of a fleet that was sold off three or four years ago. "Whoever sold [the truck] didn't take the lettering off," he said, asking that his name not be used.

He said police had contacted him Sunday morning about the accident and he told Somerville Patch, "I don't know anything about it."