This content was created by Robert Siciliano. This content was uploaded by Robert Siciliano. This is a YouTube video titled "Witness Robert Siciliano 'fragile' After Boston Marathon Attack" (posted April 18, 2013). It contains an on-air interview/eyewitness account from a morning news program: an interviewer (SPEAKER B), another witness (SPEAKER A), and Boston resident Robert Siciliano. Siciliano describes being near the finish line during the Boston Marathon bombings, the explosions, smoke, chaos, and how he reconnected with his family shortly afterward. The clip is immediate post-attack eyewitness testimony and news coverage of the event.
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I made the turn, I mean, it was like the first pop, boom! And then another one, boom! And then another one, boom! It's like one after the other. It was just one big cloud of smoke, white smoke, and then the other one, one after the other after the other.
That's just one of the hundreds who witnessed the chaos and carnage at Monday's Boston Marathon. Our next guest was there as well, along with his family. Boston resident Robert Siciliano was nearing the finish line when the blasts occurred. Robert, thanks for speaking with us this morning. And first of all, I want to ask you, how are you feeling this morning, some 16 hours after this traumatic event happened to you?
I'm on a few hours of sleep and I'm a little fragile, thank you.
Where were you when the bombs detonated?
I was just rounding the corner. I was on Boylston Street. The smoke had just begun to dissipate, and I ran towards the smoke, towards the bombings. My family was on the other side, and I had to get to them.
I know you were—
So, Boston, Boston, I was on my way towards the finish line. The Boston Police cleared everybody off the road. I kept running. I evaded law enforcement. And they started screaming at me. One of them came at me and they grabbed me, forced me off the road, and I jumped the fence. And then I ran through the back alleys where the restaurants and bars were. Exiting people. There was screaming, there was yelling, crying. There was a lot of blood on the ground. And I ran through the crowds. I ran around the back end of the finish line and ended up crossing Boylston. I had contacted my dad right when the bombs went off and he evacuated my family.
How long did it take you to meet up with your family, Rob?
A good 10 minutes. A lot of confusion and a lot of phone calls. And, um, I instructed my dad to get out of there because my concern was that there'd be another bomb going off. And I made him and, uh, my family walk in the middle of the road thinking that there might be another explosion.
Your family is all okay this morning?
Yes.
Did you know right away, Rob, that this was two bombs that had gone off, or were— was there confusion as to what you thought exactly what was going on?
So security is the nature of my business, and there's no confusing what a bomb is. Uh, running the course all day long, I smelled smoke. I smelled people smoking ribs and grilling all day long. Which is great. But then the smell of smoke, once I got towards the finish line, was vile. It wasn't the same smoke of a barbecue.
You're—
and I knew it was an explosion.
You're from Boston. How will your city recover from this?
Boston's resilient. We'll be fine collectively, but, um, obviously the families who are affected won't, and the running community will take a while.
Rob, thanks for speaking with us this morning. We're glad you and your family are okay, and we continue to pray for everyone in Boston. Thanks so much for speaking with us.
