Boston Tunnel Collapse Kills Newlywed

Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly said Tuesday he is treating the concrete collapse in a Big Dig tunnel that killed a motorist as a crime scene that could lead to charges of negligent homicide.

Reilly's office already has begun issuing subpoenas to those involved in the design, manufacturing, testing, construction and oversight of the panels and tunnel.

"What we are looking at is anyone who had anything to do with what happened last night," Reilly said. "No one is going to be spared."

Gov. Mitt Romney said Tuesday he is taking legal action to oust the head of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority after a woman was crushed to death by falling cement in a Boston Big Dig tunnel.

Romney said Turnpike Authority Chairman Matthew Amorello has "undermined public safety" through "leadership failures," CBS News affiliate CBS-4 in Boston reports. Romney also said he wants to start a nationwide search for a replacement for Amorello.

"People should not have to drive through the Turnpike tunnels with their fingers crossed," Romney said. "Neither I nor anyone else could be or should be satisfied until we have new leadership at the Turnpike authority."

At least 12 tons of concrete fell from the ceiling of a connector tunnel late Monday. The driver of the crushed car managed to crawl through a window to safety, but his wife died when four of massive concrete ceiling panels fell on the vehicle.

The debris and danger shut down the Interstate 90 connector tunnel they were driving through, backing up traffic for miles during the Tuesday morning commute.

Amorello said a steel "tieback" that had held a 40-foot section of ceiling over eastbound Interstate 90 gave way, letting the concrete slabs loose as the car drove beneath them.

"There was a snapping sound heard," Amorello said. "One of the tile panels from the roof released. It caused a series of panels to be released."

Amorello's aides did not immediately return calls Tuesday to respond to the governor's threat to take legal action to oust him.

The accident was near the entrance to the Ted Williams Tunnel, which runs under Boston Harbor to Logan International Airport. Amorello said he had ordered a precautionary inspection of that tunnel as well because it has similar tiebacks, though a different ceiling structure.

Romney said that future use of the tunnel could be deterred due to the collapse, CBS Radio News reports.

"Will we use the tunnel?" he said. "Yeah. But it's going to make you think twice, and it shouldn't."

He said similar tiebacks were also used in 17 spots on the Interstate 90 section of the Big Dig and all were being checked.

"We feel awful about what happened last night," Amorello said. "It's an awful, awful tragedy. ... This is an awful situation that occurred."

He appointed a state police major, two outside consultants and a team from the Federal Highway Administration to assist in the investigation.

Romney has long been critical of Amorello's management of the Big Dig.

The $14 billion highway project, which buried Interstate 93 beneath downtown and extended the Massachusetts Turnpike to Logan Airport, has been criticized for years over construction problems and cost overruns. There have been water leaks and at least one incident when dirt and debris from an air shaft fell onto cars.

In May, prosecutors charged six current and former employees of a concrete supplier with fraud for allegedly concealing that some concrete delivered to the Big Dig was not freshly mixed.

Amorello said preliminary investigation shows that the quality of the concrete was not to blame for Monday's accident.

The ceiling panels that fell had been erected in 1999. The steel tiebacks holding them were bolted to the tunnel roof overhead.

Amorello said the contractor was Modern Continental. Representatives of that company and project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment Tuesday.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino demanded quick answers Tuesday.

"We don't need a six-month study. We need an immediate reaction and action by the different authorities so that we can reassure the public as they drive into the city or drive over to the airport that the tunnel is safe to go through," he said.

Christy Mihos, an independent candidate for governor and former member of the Turnpike Authority Board and agency critic, urged Romney to seize control of the Turnpike's day-to-day operations, calling the accident "my worst nightmare come true."

Romney said he had asked his legal team to find a way to remove Amorello. He said the list of management failures has grown, called him secretive and uncooperative, and equated the situation to the replacement of former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown after Hurricane Katrina.

Last year, when Romney asked the state Supreme Judicial Court to issue an advisory opinion clarifying the governor's ability to remove the head of authority, the court refused, saying it would issue no opinion because the question did not have legal urgency.

"Something happened today that we believe substantially improves our legal ability to remove Chairman Amorello," Romney said Tuesday.

The victims were identified by State Police as newlyweds Milena Delvalle, 38, a native of Costa Rica, and Angel Delvalle, 46. Angel Delvalle was treated for minor injuries.

The two were headed to Logan Airport to pick up his brother and sister-in-law, who had been vacationing in his native Puerto Rico.