Museum Of Fine Arts Figure Killed In Boston Hit-and-run

BOSTON, MA — The victim of a fatal hit-and-run motor vehicle incident has been identified as a longtime art collector and benefactor of the Museum of Fine Arts.

According to the Boston Police Department, John Axelrod, 79, was killed after being hit by a car while walking his dog in the Back Bay neighborhood this past weekend. Police responded to the scene at the Commonwealth Avenue and Hereford Street in Boston’s Back Bay shortly after 8 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Axelrod was transported to the hospital where he later died. Axelrod’s dog also died as a result of the collision.

William Haney, 42, has since been arrested in connection to the incident and has officially been charged with murder and cruelty to animals. His vehicle was soon found unoccupied in nearby Brookline, which led to his eventual apprehension. He was slated to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on Monday, Jan. 5. He is believed to have intentionally hit Axelrod and his dog, according to a report from MassLive.

Axelrod was an Honorary Advisor to the MFA and had been involved with the museum for more than 40 years, and during that time donated hundreds of works. The John Axelrod Gallery was established in 2009 in the MFA’s Art of the Americas Wing, and features nearly 400 pieces of American art from the 1920’s and 1930’s.

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