Dozens of people were hurt when one Boston tram collided with another, after which the driver admitted to police that he'd failed to see the stationary tram because he was texting his girlfriend.

Travelling at around 25 miles per hour, the Green Line tram simply failed to brake, or stop, despite the fact that the tram in front had been stationary for more than a minute and should have been visible for 13 seconds before the collision, WCVB-TV reports.

Not only that, but the driver of the tram had already passed a red signal to get to the collision point - so quite a long text, all in all.

There will have to be a formal investigation, which will take a month or two, but the driver failed to turn up to a meeting on Sunday and will certainly face the sack if it turns out he was texting while driving - the practice is, unsurprisingly, banned. Even his union seems to have deserted him: "This was an individual act by an individual who does not represent the attitudes or the professional conduct of all or most MBTA workers." ®

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