The death of a 55-year-old Florida woman, struck and killed while riding a Bluebike by a driver of a box truck in Cambridge, has prompted cycling advocates to call for safety upgrades to large trucks and city streets.
The crash occurred Friday afternoon around 4:30 at the intersection of DeWolfe and Mt. Auburn streets, close to Memorial Drive along the Charles River, where the cyclist and truck driver collided into each other.
Preliminary investigation results suggested “both the truck and the bicycle were traveling in the same direction on Mt Auburn Street and the truck was turning onto DeWolf Street at the time of the crash,” according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow.
First responders took the victim, whose identity has not been released, to a nearby Cambridge Health Alliance, where medical personnel pronounced her dead Friday evening. The truck driver remained on scene, Ryan and Elow said in a joint statement.
Advocacy group Cambridge Bicycle Safety reported that the truck, lacking side guards, turned right as the cyclist traveled straight across the intersection, according to the hyperlocal Cambridge Day.
“We are heartbroken to hear of the fatal crash involving a person riding a bike in Cambridge,” the group stated in an X post Saturday. “We extend our deepest condolences to their family and friends.”
“Cambridge Bicycle Safety remains committed to a future where no one needs to endure such tragedies,” the group added. “We have more to do to improve our infrastructure to make our streets safe for everyone who travels on them.
City Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, in an X post Friday night, highlighted how he sponsored a truck safety ordinance in 2020 that added side guards and other safety features to trucks, “but it was only legally able to apply to City vehicles and trucks that do business with the City.”
“Devastated to learn that a cyclist in Cambridge was killed this afternoon by the driver of a truck without side guards,” Sobrino-Wheeler stated. “We need state and federal truck safety legislation to cover all trucks.”
Before Charlie Baker handed his position to Maura Healey, the former governor signed a road safety bill on one of his last days in office that requires large tractor-trailers bought or leased by the state to be equipped with lateral protective devices.
The law doesn’t go into effect until 2025.
“Why are side guards not required on all box trucks and tractor-trailers when we have known for decades that they save lives?” a Somerville resident posted in response to Friday’s crash under the X account ‘Somervillennial.’
The parents of a 5-year-old Andover girl who died in May 2023 after being struck by the driver of a tractor trailer at a busy intersection in Merrimack Valley town are pushing for side guards to be required on all trucks.
An investigation into the tragedy found the driver not at fault, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker announced last November. The driver did not face any criminal charges.
The driver was stopped at the intersection and did not see Sidney Mae Olson traveling on her scooter in the crosswalk below, the investigation found. The driver was not impaired by any substances and immediately came to a controlled stop after the collision, the DA said.
Sidney’s parents Eric Olson and Mary Beth Ellis are calling on business owners to “update your trucks with the safety guards, cross-over mirrors, and backup cameras now required on state-owned trucks and proven to help drivers spot people like Sidney.”
“If those trucks are going to be getting off the highway and mixing in our small towns, having those safety measures is essential to keep us all safe,” Mary Beth Ellis told the Herald at a one-year remembrance event in May.
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