Man stabs driver after mom fatally struck

Shortly after 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, a woman was struck and killed by a large, flatbed tow truck just south of Watertown Square. A man she was walking with then stabbed the truck driver multiple times, according to investigators.

The woman, who was in her late 60s or early 70s, had been struck by the truck while crossing the street and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan, speaking at a press conference at the scene.

At 11:20 a.m., the Watertown Police initially responded to a report of a "road rage episode" at the intersection Watertown and California streets, just across the Charles River from Watertown Square. On an audio recording of police radio traffic, a police officer can be heard saying "a person got stabbed here, supposedly someone's got a knife."

LISTEN: Scanner audio of the police response

According to Ryan, a younger man walking with the deceased woman, who investigators believe is related to her, stabbed the truck driver five times in the torso. The driver was been transported to a Boston hospital in critical condition. The younger man was also taken to the hospital.

"When the police arrived, the [stabbing] suspect was still there and was placed under arrest," Ryan said.

Witness Zeidan Taha told the TAB he saw a man in his mid-40s, "yelling and screaming," jump up on the truck after it struck the woman, and begin to stab the driver. The driver then threw his assailant from the cab and both landed on the ground.

"The guy kept stabbing [the driver] and chasing him all around the truck. The guy was screaming 'I didn't see her! I didn't see her," he said.

Approximate location of the incident

His brother, Moe Taha, said the pair had taken cell phone video of the altercation, which they gave to police. Zeidan manages Watertown Taxi. Moe owns the company and nearby Jana Grill.

Watertown and California streets are closed just south of Watertown Square. California Street at Galen Street has been blocked off, and the Watertown Police Department Twitter account states Watertown Street is also closed. In addition, police have stretched bright red screens across California Street to block the view of the incident scene.

"This is a very active scene and we are going to be here for a number of hours," Ryan said.

Drivers are urged to find an alternate route if their normal path takes them through Watertown Square.

"I just want to let everyone know it is a safe area right now," said Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn.

The victim's identity is not being released pending notification of next of kin, Ryan said.

This incident is under investigation by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Watertown Police Department, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section