A bicyclist died after being hit by a truck at around 4:30 p.m. Friday at Mount Auburn and DeWolfe streets, south of Harvard Square in the Riverside neighborhood, according to police.
Cambridge and state police are investigating, said Cambridge Police Department spokesperson Robert Goulston. The name of the victim hasn’t been released, but was identified late Friday as a 55-year-old Florida woman. (Update on June 24, 2024: The victim was identified later as Kim Staley of Naples, Florida.)
The woman was on a rented Bluebike near St. Paul’s Parish when a truck with no side guards turned right across a cyclist going straight across the intersection, according to the Cambridge Bicycle Group. A member was on the scene shortly after the crash, along with several police officers. A preliminary investigation suggested that the truck and bicycle were traveling the same direction on Mount Auburn and the truck turned onto DeWolf Street, police said.
First responders treated the woman on the scene and took her to CHA Cambridge Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The truck operator remained on scene, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Cambridge police commissioner Christine Elow said in a 9:12 p.m. mail confirming an investigation was underway.
The most recent previous death of a bicyclist was in Somerville, as Stephen Conley, 72, died in August 2022 on Broadway near Teele Square from a “dooring” incident – the driver of an SUV opened a car door and hit him. A month before that, Cantabrigian George Clemmer was killed in a collision with a dump truck in Boston. Paula Sharaga, died February 19 in a traffic crash in Boston when a cement truck hit her bicycle in an intersection.
There have been previous truck deaths in Cambridge, including of Matthew Barker in a parking lot in The Port near Central Square in September 2022; Darryl Willis in August 2020 by a tractor-trailer near the Harvard Square T Station; Jie Zhao, killed by a dump truck in October 2018 in Cambridgeport; and Bernard “Joe” Lavins, who was hit by a tractor-trailer in October 2016 in Porter Square.
The Cambridge Bicycle Safety group gave a statement Friday evening: “We are heartbroken to hear of the fatal crash involving a person riding a bike in Cambridge today. 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. We have more to do to improve our infrastructure to make our streets safe for everyone who travels them.”
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Horrible and preventable. Rest in peace. I hope the driver is held accountable and her friends and family are supported through this.
Is this the first person to die on a Bluebike? I cannot find any other examples.
Sadder times for Cambridge.
The majority of the new so called bike lane roads minus beacon western maybe another one or two are less safe for:
– Bicyclists
– Pedestrians
– Motorists
– Emergency Vehicles
Most all want safe efficient bike lanes. What we got are a mix mash of tens or maybe even hundreds of millions of dollars of dangerous non maintained not thought out so called bike lanes. WOW is it frustrating to watch the devastating impact of ineptitude.
Rest in peace 😔
Using the opportunity of a bicyclist dying to rail against bike infrastructure proven by the federal highway administration to be significantly safer for bicyclists… Just gross. How do you not feel shame?
Hi admin. Can we block “prc” from commenting going forward. This is unseemly
I am deeply saddened by such a senseless death and my deepest condolences goes out to the loved one she left behind and the grieving community.
Looking at the fatal cyclist accidents cited in this article, maybe it is time for the City to ban truck traffic during peak commute hours. Trucks, by their sheer size compared to the cyclist or pedestrians and larger blind zones will do the most damage in any collision.
Let’s all keep her in our thoughts and let’s all be vigilant and safe out there
Since you are keeping a list of these tragic deaths please do not forget Paula Sharaga who was struck and killed by a cement truck in Fenway in 2019.
Thank you. This story was updated with a link to a story about Paula Sharaga’s death in Boston in 2019.
Vehicles are allowed to turn right from Mt.Auburn Street onto Dewolfe Street with a green traffic right arrow signal light. When this right arrow is illuminated there is a graphic red bike signal light illuminated for bicyclists going in the same direction (easterly).
Is there a way for Blue Bikes to provide or rent helmets?
@prc You are blaming bike lanes for a death on a street without bike lanes??!! What is wrong with you? Have you no shame?
Denise Simmons, Paul Toner, Joan Pickett, Ayesha Wilson, and Patty Nolan:
How much injury and death are you willing to trade for parking convenience? Don’t hide behind the excuse of protecting business. There’s no evidence that bike lanes harm businesses; in fact, the opposite is true. Even if there were, is a little business worth people’s lives?
Shame on each and every one of you.
The UN reports that the world is on the road to “climate hell.” Cambridge could have been a model for promoting sustainable transportation. Instead, we’ve become an example of how to block such efforts, thanks to Denise Simmons, Paul Toner, Joan Pickett, Ayesha Wilson, and Patty Nolan.
The biggest disappointment is Patty Nolan, who ran on a pro-bike lane platform and claims to advocate for science and facts. At a crucial moment, she betrayed her supporters and made an irrational decision that ignored both science and facts.
@prc Your comment is incorrect. The bike lanes were meticulously planned over several years and are based on designs used successfully in other cities.
Numerous studies indicate that bike lanes reduce accidents, with a federal study showing a 50% reduction in accidents due to the Cambridge bike lanes. It’s common sense that separating bikes from motor vehicles increases safety.
Please stop spreading misinformation. Your statements are demonstrably false.
Lastly, it’s illogical to blame bike lanes for an accident in an intersection where there are no bike lanes.
I agree with @FrankD about the council members, especially Patty Nolan.
She claimed that bike lanes in her neighborhood keep her child safe, yet she voted to delay bike lanes in other neighborhoods, compromising the safety of others.
This decision was based on unsubstantiated claims from a few business owners, without any evidence. All available data actually supports the opposite. So much for her commitment to following the facts.
It seems that we all need to wait until the investigation has concluded before determining that this was definitely the truck driver’s fault or definitely the bike rider’s fault. The truck could have turned in front of the cyclist when she had the right of way, or the truck could have turned on a green turn arrow with the right of way while the cyclist had the red and did see it or ignored it. Before jumping to one conclusion or the other, how about we wait until the facts are determined and disclosed?
FrankD: This street has separated bike lanes, on that block at least. But the crash was in an intersection, and quickbuild separated bike lanes help far less in intersections.
There’s a 50% proven reduction in crashes from quickbuilds… but 50% is very much not a 100% reduction. So quickbuilds are a good start, but not the full solution, and we need to be doing both those and also more if we’re going to meet the city’s Vision Zero goal.
Actually, Patty Nolan ran on a common sense, pragmatic, and analytical approach to solving problems and improving our city. Once it was clear that the bike lanes already installed were causing real problems, and were done without proper analysis, she insisted that we use a better process in the future.
The slowdown in bike lane construction is a direct result of bike lane advocates pushing too hard, too fast for bike lanes that did not make sense. If all of us would work together on sensible bike lanes, as a majority of the Council voted, we might get them done a lot faster and with fewer recriminations.
There was also cyclist Christopher Weigl, killed in 2011 by a tractor trailer on Comm Ave in Allston near BU.
We need to get rid of the cars
Very correct and factual Itamar Turner-Trauring. The actual picture on Cambridge day has the plastic pylon in the picture. Of course if you mention anything related to common sense the gang attacks you and wants you removed. How pathetic.
The reason the bike lanes are delayed are because of this ad hoc design – quick build destruction.
As mentioned on main streets we’d be far far safer for all to make western ave beacon street style protected lanes. Everyone is better off.
But to name call attack bully it really shows the city council who and what they are dealing with.
This is a slightly amended comment that was posted to another article.
Slaw,
I’m a bike rider in Cambridge. My wife is a bike rider.
I don’t oppose safe bike infrastructure. I’m for safe bike infrastructure.
You are so focussed on bikes, that you miss the fact that the safe bike infrastructure is not being created on some Cambridge streets… streets that I ride on e.g. Brattle and Mount Auburn (west of Harvard Square).
This is the last post I’ll make on bikes. Your time spent ranting would better be spent advocating for safe bike infrastructure, not the hodge- podge that the city has placed on those two streets and from what we see, other streets as well.
What happened late yesterday is a terrible accident. Again, it would be good if you focussed on the bike infrastructure at the intersection of Mount Auburn and Aberdeen as well as the corner of Brattle, Mason and Ash. Those bike lane intersections are unsafe and I fear that a tragic accident is likely to occur.
You said that you go to a medical practice on Mount Auburn. Spend some time with the city administrators and fix that intersection. You would be creating a mitzvah if you could do it. And definitely spend some time speaking with the city about the intersection of Mason and Brattle. There is very likely to be a fatal collision between a car making a right hand turn on to Brattle and winding up in the bike lane. I, and many others, have seen cars turn into the bike lane. Why? Because the bike lane feeds directly into the cars making the right hand turn. Stupid.
The roads are dangerous for all who use them. The fact that the cyclist who was killed in this incident was from another state, so was likely unfamiliar with area conditions, may be significant. The quick-build frenzy has been ill-advised. I propose that trios consisting of pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers be formed, in both Cambridge and Somerville, for the purpose of providing road-user input on all currently configured intersections as well as those planned for the future.
@prc you should perhaps read my comment more carefully.
@PRC you oppose all bike lanes cut the BS. The reason bike lanes are being delayed is because of bad faith nonsense like this from people with other agendas.
Delaying safe infrastructure has consequences and it isn’t unreasonable to ask that those who did so answer for them.
Slowing quick builds down will not get us closer to more permanent solutions, precisely the opposite, and that is what the champions of the delay want. They are the same people who sued the city to remove all bike lanes, and you supported them in doing that.
@concerned43 I will not be lectured by an “I bike but… here’s why you should oppose bike infrastructure” comment telling me I don’t advocate for safe biking infrastructure. No, YOU DONT.
We’ve been going back and forth on here for months and I’ve consistently championed safe biking infrastructure over your protestations and bad faith nonsense.
Consistently the things you actually take issue with with bike lanes is the space they take away from cars and you don’t care at all about the actual issues with them like forcing unnecessary crossings, getting dropped in favor of parking and turn lanes at random etc. it’s clear what your real motivations are.
I have advocated for improvements on MT Auburn, but I want very different ones from you.
I think the bike lane at mason and brattle is really clear, I’ve gone through it in all modes and I cannot see why people have any problem with it. Some people just genuinely suck at driving and I’m not sure how you build infrastructure to prevent that and I don’t think we should build infrastructure that centers them.
I truly hope this is the last biking post you make. That would be a mitzvah.
Also: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/There-Are-No-Accidents/Jessie-Singer/9781982129682
There are a lot of policy and infrastructure changes that could have prevented this (sideguards, banning trucks from certain areas and/or at certain times, narrowing the intersection in various ways etc) and “accident” assumes an outcome of the investigation that is still ongoing.
@prc, @AllisS Your statement is incorrect. The bike lanes were not poorly planned; they took years to design. They have successfully reduced accidents by 50%. A federal study showed this.
Please stop spreading disinformation. Studies show that bike lanes can and do reduce accidents. Your propaganda is shameless and will put people in danger.
@PeterG Utter nonsense. The bike lane people “pushed too hard”? How? By asking for bike lanes?
The bike lanes were not rushed. They took years to implement. They were delayed because of pushback from selfish people concerned about their parking convenience. I guess it’s OK to push hard for personal convenience but it is wrong to push hard to save lives?
Patty Nolan did NOT make a decision based on common sense. There is NO evidence that bike lanes are hurting businesses or anyone else. In fact, the evidence shows that they help local businesses. The claims of harm are just something the anti-bike lane people say but they haven’t provided a shred of evidence for it.
Patty Nolan’s decision was not based on facts or evidence. It was based on political pressure from selfish people who value their own convenience more than the lives of others.
Underride crashes occur when a vehicle, motorcyclist, bicyclist, or pedestrian travels underneath the trailer of a truck. These types of crashes are extremely dangerous for bicyclists and pedestrians because they make it extremely likely that the person biking or walking may become caught between the trucks wheels or sustain serious neck and head injuries due to contact with the trailer. Hundreds of people in US die in such accidents every year.
The Volpe Transportation Systems Center, a U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) research center, found nearly 50% of bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities in truck crashes are caused by underride crashes.
These fatalities are avoidable and can be dramatically reduced with a very simple installation on trucks [costing a few hundred dollars]: Lateral Protective Devices (LPDs) or Side Guards, barriers that hang from the sides of the trucks to help prevent vehicles and people from slipping underneath.
Lateral Protective Devices (LPDs) are barriers retrofitted to the sides of the truck to close physically the dangerous gap between the front and rear tires and the road, protecting vulnerable road users. The LPD guards must be properly maintained by trucking companies, obviously, once installed. — https://bikeleague.org/take-action/policy-advocacy/on-the-issues/large-truck-safety/
https://www.propublica.org/article/americas-dangerous-trucks-cars-underride-crash-frontline
1 hour June 2023 Frontline film on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LyaWzOesXk
the FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigation shows why US regulatory agencies, including National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the trucking industry have long refused to mandate the LPD safety devices — and why the struggle continues today.
@Itamar Turner-Trauring Yes, I misspoke. The crash occurred at an intersection without bike lane protection.
It’s baffling how @prc can blame the crash on bike lanes. Some people will shamelessly spread lies to protect their convenience.
Most comments here refer to bike lanes, parking spots, truck banning or modifications. The problem is always traffic education and enforcement through harsh consequences. Most drivers don’t use their mirrors or don’t look over the right shoulder to check the blind spot when making the turn. Most drivers don’t use their indicators to signal the turn so the others can see their intentions. In the absence of this I expect more cyclists to die. As long as there is no strong detterance (proper punishment for offenders I e. Negligent homicide) I expect more cyclists to die. As long as drivers keep obliviously open their doors into traffic or into bike lanes I expect more cyclists to be injured or killed. There is no practical bike lane that can stop idiots. We can bicker all we want but it all starts with education and proper legal classification of such tragic “accidents”.
The places in the world with the safest streets aren’t the places with the most enforcement. They are the places with the best infrastructure. Enforcement cannot be everywhere and cannot catch everything, nor frankly would we want to live in such a surveillance society that could. Enforcement also comes intricately connected to the problems of police abuse and harassment of certain groups.
The door zone issue you point out actually can directly be solved with infrastructure like protected bike lanes in which dooring is impossible.
A couple of other crashes in Cambridge and Boston which also involved large trucks: Sharon Hamer (on foot) in 2019 in Harvard Square; Amanda Phillips in Inman Sq in 2016 (doored and then run over by a truck); Meng Jin in 2018 outside the museum of science; Marcia Deihl at River St and Putnam in 2015; in Boston: Samuel Alvarado in Allston earlier this year in 2024, and Anita Kurmann in 2015 just the other side of the Harvard Bridge at Mass Ave and Beacon.
Having been to Amsterdam recently, I beg to differ to slaw’s comment “The places in the world with the safest streets aren’t the places with the most enforcement. They are the places with the best infrastructure”. The places that has the safest streets are where people obey the rules. Yes, you should have the best infrastructure and good enforcement but if people don’t obey the rules, they will not help. I was totally amazed by densely packed cyclist going at a Tour de France speed come to immediate stop (without piling up into a heap) when the light changes. If a dumb tourist from Cambridge try to cross the street against the light, he will be at fault to whatever happens!
A glimmer of hope. Cars are necessary evil, just like the taxes we have to pay. But as people trade up to later models, all the electronic safety features surely will reduce accidents. My 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid will warn me if there is a bicyclist in my blind spot; it will warn me if I am about to open my door and door a bicyclist; and it will even bring the car to a hard stop if I am in imminent danger of hitting a pedestrian or cyclist.
This is incredibly sad. My deepest condolences to all.
On the surface the Blue Bike program comes across as appealing. In reality is irresponsible and dangerous to promote a program like this that specifically targets non locals who are novices to cycling in this city and aren’t required to wear a helmet.
Passingbell: according to the Bluebikes website, there have been 23 Million rides since it began in 2011.
As several other commenters have noted, this may in fact be the first fatal crash involving a Bluebike. Not that we should accept any traffic fatalities. But I don’t think the data shows that Bluebikes is luring visitors to do something particularly dangerous. In March a little girl was killed crossing the street with her grandmother near the Children’s Museum – a large pickup truck was involved.
Making streets safer for visitors and locals to get around outside of cars should be the priority here. That might mean regulating certain larger vehicles to make them less likely to kill someone.
@yckcambridgeday you are mixing things up here. You are assuming people there follow the rules because of enforcement but simply, no. The Netherlands spends much less on policing than we do and that is absolutely not the core of their street safety strategy. The core of their street safety strategy is designing streets that encourage people to follow the rules: pavement types to regulate speeds, raised crossings to ensure drivers stop for pedestrians, signal priority for transit and bikes, etc. we don’t consistently do that yet. In many cases we still design for speed above all else then tell people to slow down: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2021/8/6/the-key-to-slowing-traffic-is-street-design-not-speed-limits
Modern safety features are often extremely overrated and come with the very real downside that people overly rely on them neglecting actually safe driving:
https://www.aarp.org/auto/driver-safety/dangerous-reliance-car-tech/
I hope you still look and don’t rely on those features to tell you if cyclists or pedestrians are there because all kinds of things from bad weather to bright sunlight to a spec of dust in the wrong place can render them largely or completely ineffective.
@passingbell, since my first comment I confirmed this is the first casualty on a Bluebike in its history. Blue bikes have made biking in Boston dramatically safer simply by getting way more people biking. Blue bikes are in fact safer than non-Bluebikes biking statistically and by some margin.
Helmets are not, despite what many think, even close to the end all be all of biking safety. The person killed here also was wearing a helmet and clearly it didn’t matter.
@FrankD I was stating an opinion, obviously. That you don’t agree with it doesn’t make it “disinformation” or “shameless propaganda.”
@AllisS you are entitled to your opinion but not your own facts.
@FrankD The only “fact” I stated (correctly) was that the cyclist was from another state.
Glad you acknowledge “The quick-build frenzy has been ill-advised” is not a fact.
I responded to your first comment directed at me that it was my opinion. (Which was obvious from the get-go.) To reiterate, I think the quick build was ill-advised. “I think” = “in my opinion.”
@Slaw, sorry, I neglected to direct my response above to you. It was actually FrankD who confused what is (obviously) my opinion with a nonexistent claim to be stating “fact.”
The fact is the quick builds have dramatically reduced cycling related crashes: https://highways.dot.gov/media/30486
You are entitled to your opinion that reducing the rate of cycling crashes is ill-advised I guess but it looks pretty gross to post on the story of someone who died on a bike.
Harsh reminder of the vulnerability of all two-wheelers on the road. Including motorcycles, which have the highest fatality rate of all modes. I’m also sadly reminded of the little girl who died near Boston Children’s Museum; she was an out-of-towner too. Boston streets are chaotic enough for residents, but I fear even more overwhelming for visitors.
@Slaw Stop twisting my words. Of course I neither said nor meant that reducing the rate of cycling crashes is ill-advised. Reasonable people can disagree on which measures might best accomplish this.
Im not twisting anything. No one wants to openly admit they are against safer streets but you are claiming the measures that have demonstrably made our streets safer are ill advised.
“Demonstrably safer” is opinion.
No it isn’t. It is backed by peer review research, aka a scientific fact: https://highways.dot.gov/sites/fhwa.dot.gov/files/FHWA-HRT-23-025.pdf
There are flex post separated lanes on that stretch of Mt. Auburn. As one reader has commented there is a red/green arrow for vehicular traffic and a red/green bicycle light for bicycle traffic at the corner of Mt Auburn and DeWolfe. It appears this tragic accident occurred at the intersection and not inside the flex post bike lane, although no bike lane unless constructed of very tall solid concrete would have mattered. The results of the investigation have not been announced.
I wish some readers would just stop attacking city councilors who are just doing their jobs.
@Slaw I don’t see any “scientific fact” in the document that you linked to, which is certainly not a study specific to Cambridge/Somerville/Boston. It mentions “trends” and “expected” and “estimated” reductions. It also refers to the difficulty of drawing conclusions given “the small sample size” for “specific cities.”