Boston Tunnel Collapse Kills Newlywed

(CBS/AP)  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."

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