Calm quickly turned to panic during the minutes following the Boston Marathon explosions. Exhausted runners and spectators sprinted through the streets unclear of the situation at hand.
“I really thought I was going to die after the second bomb went off,” Penn senior Callie Moriarty said.
The 21-year-old student, a Boston native, ran the race with four other teammates on behalf of the Codman Academy Charter School. Pulling ahead at mile 16, Moriarty was the only member of her team to finish.
Moriarty was about two blocks past the finish line when she heard the initial blast. She turned around and saw smoke, but at first, she and others did not make much of it.
“I thought to myself, 'that was weird, is that thunder?'” Moriarity said. "At the same time, people around me were speculating what technical issue could have been the cause."
Once bystanders realized something was out of the ordinary, Moriarty says adrenaline and fear took hold.
“So many people who had just finished 26.2 miles started running again,” she said. "There was blood, limbs and scared people."
Cell phone service was shut down about ten minutes after the explosions, according to Moriarty. She noted people thought the bomb detonation was linked to the cellular signal.
Service was spotty throughout the afternoon and made it impossible for Moriarty to reach her teammates. NBC10.com was in touch with the Pennsylvania student as she awaited news.
At around 4:30 pm, about an hour and a half after the blasts, Moriarty still had no word. Finally she learned that they never crossed the finish line and that everyone was okay.
“They got to the final turn and people were waving them away from the explosions,” she said.
Sirens were whirling through the streets as many tried to make their way to safety, unsure of where that would be.
“Everyone was scared that we were all stuck in the middle of the street in Boston, surrounded by thousands of people,” Moriarty said, “I felt like we were such an easy target and nobody knew where to go.”
While Moriarty and her four teammates were unscathed, the day's events left three dead and over a hundred injured.
