Ghost Bike Installed For Owen McGrory

(photo via U-Hub)

On this blustery rainy day lets all take a moment to think about Owen McGrory. Who lost his life when he was struck by a sanitation truck.  One person dying on a bicycle is one person too many.

THE heartbroken wife of Northern Ireland man Eoin McGrory killed in a hit and run incident in the US last week, has said she wants justice for her husband.

Eoin died when he was hit by a garbage truck in the Charlestown area of Boston on Thursday afternoon last.

The truck driver, Ricky Prezisoso, a father of three, has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death.

He is denying the charge, claiming he thought he had hit a pothole.

The 41-year-old is on $5,000 bail and is due back in court again 19 May next.

However, Eoin’s wife of almost four months, Shanique, is refusing to accept Prezisoso’s account and says she wants “justice to be served.”

Speaking on Boston television, she said: “I loved my husband. He did not deserve to die this way.

“That’s not a good enough answer for me. I’m not agreeing with that.”

Rubbish truck driver Ricky Prezisoso denies charges over Mr McGrory’s death
She added: “All I need is justice to be served. For my whole entire family, we are all mourning and I just need justice to be done.” she said.

Members of Eoin’s family are travelling to Boston from Shantallow in Derry to help with the funeral arrangements.

The youngest child of six (three boys and three girls) of John and Theresa, of Earhart Park (originally of Carrabane Walk, Shantallow), Eoin had been living and working in the construction industry in the US for the past 16 years and married Shanique only two days before last Christmas.

A keen cyclist, the former Steelstown Primary School and Carnhill High School pupil had won several prestigious competitions in Boston and was on a training run when the incident occurred.(via)

Galen sent this in and I thought it was valuable.

I definitely think a post is worthy. Some food for thought, what we’re fighting for at the Statehouse and City Hall level:

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Cyclist Killed By Hit And Run In Charlestown

Our sincerest thoughts go out to his family.

It seems they have found the garbage truck driver they think was involved in the crash. And charged them.

Update: Police have charged the driver of a sanitation truck who allegedly killed a cyclist and left the scene of the accident Thursday in Charlestown.

Ricky Prezioso, 41, of Swampscott, has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident after causing death.(via)

From the BPD

At about 1:40pm, on Thursday, April 3, 2014, officers from District A-15 (Charlestown) responded to a call for a pedestrian struck in the area of Cambridge & Spice Streets in Charlestown. On arrival, officers located a male victim suffering from what appeared to be life threatening injuries. The victim was pronounced deceased on the scene.

The Boston Police Department is actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident and is asking for the public’s help in an effort to locate and identify a vehicle seen leaving the area shortly after the accident. The vehicle in question is described as a sanitation truck, white in color with black lettering.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Boston Homicide Unit at (617) 343-4470.

Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1(800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). The Boston Police Department will stringently guard and protect the identities of all those who wish to help this investigation anonymously.

Charlestown has a history of being less than amenable to cycling safety improvements. And this horrible tragedy comes on the same day that the MassBike and WalkBoston are introducing a cyclist/pedestrian safety bill.

I am deeply saddened that one of our own has been killed. More information when I get it.

EDIT:

Some pictures from the scene, does anyone know this bicycle?

EDIT: Warning this might make you hate all humanity.

The Swampscott garbage truck driver who fatally struck a bicyclist in Charlestown allegedly told Boston police that he did not know he had struck someone with his vehicle, and completed his trash pickup a few feet from where the bicyclists crumpled body was found.

The name of the bicyclist has not been released.

Ricky Prezioso, 41, today pleaded not guilty to one count of leaving the scene of an accident after causing death in Charlestown Municipal Court where bail was set at $5,000 cash and Judge Lawrence McCormick refused to ban him from driving.

The bicyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. His crumpled bike was found by police on Spice Street close to the Cambridge Street intersection; his body was about 10 feet further down Spice Street and remained there for several hours while police collected forensic information.

….

Prezioso’s attorney, William Cintolo, said that his client was not responsible for the fatal incident.

“Instead of the truck hitting the bike, the bike hit the truck,’’ Cintolo said. “There is not one scintilla of evidence that there was anything negligent about his operation.”

Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Ian Leson asked for $15,000 cash bail and that Prezioso be held without bail for an assault and battery case in Woburn District Court from last year.

Leson also asked the judge to suspend Prezioso’s right to drive.

But Cintolo told the judge that Prezioso supports his three children who live in Everett, as well as his fiance’s three children who live in Swampscott.

McCormick said he was convinced by Cintolo’s argument that Prezioso should be allowed to continue to earn a living behind the wheel.

“If he’s dependent upon his position to keep six children fed and clothed, I don’t find it necessary to prevent him from doing that,’’ the judge said from the bench.

You can read the rest here…its pretty depressing. Like they say, if you want to murder someone wait until they get onto a bicycle.

EDIT:
A better picture of the bike, anyone know who this is?

EDIT:
UHub is reporting that the victim was a 30 yar old man from Chelsea, but his name has not been released yet.

EDIT:
UHub is reporting that the victim was Owen McGrory, 30, of Chelsea.

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Cyclist Struck And Killed At Beacon and Charlesgate

(via)

Apparently she was struck by a dump truck.

This afternoon, MIT visiting scientist Dr. Kanako Miura, 36, died in a bicycle accident in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. Miura was a native of Japan and had been at MIT since the fall of 2012. Within MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Miura worked in the laboratory of Russ Tedrake, an associate professor of computer science and engineering. (via)

At about 3:34pm, on Sunday, May 19, 2013, officers from District D-4 (South End) responded to an accident involving a motor vehicle and a female bicyclist. On arrival, officers located a female victim suffering from what appeared to be life threatening injuries. As a result of injuries suffered in the accident, the bicyclist, a female in her early twenties, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Detectives – assigned to the Boston Police Department’s Accident Reconstruction Team – are currently investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding this accident. At present, the cause of the accident is still under investigation and no violations have been issued at this time. (via)

On Sunday afternoon at about 3:30, a 20-year-old woman was either riding her bicycle or walking beside it when she was struck by a truck, police said. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. There was a mangled bike found about a mile from the crash scene on Bay State Road. “It’s really a bad intersection, ” one resident said, describing the corner of Beacon Street and Charlesgate West, where the crash occurred. There is a bike lane on Beacon Street, but police said the woman was hit by a truck that did not stop. Investigators are trying to identify the driver of the truck involved in the incident. “People just don’t care anymore,” another resident said. “They are in such a hurry; they don’t care who they hit at all.” Police pulled over two trucks after the crash but they would not confirm whether either vehicle was involved in the incident. “It’s very scary; I live right next-door. I hope they honor the victim by making the road safer,” a resident said. As of Sunday night, police had not made any arrest or issued any violations.(via)

our hearts go out to her family and friends, more information when I get it. Of all the cyclist fatalities in the last two years, nearly all of them have been caused by large trucks. Perhaps its time the city does something about this.

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Remembering Chris Weigl

WHDH-TV –

First, Weigl wasn’t in his multi-media class Thursday morning. Then, a fellow classmate reported seeing a horrible accident on the way in.

“She said, ‘I accidentally looked over and I saw what happened and it was terrible and I didn’t mean to see it — I really didn’t want to see what happened. And she saw the bicyclist under the truck,” said Weigl’s professor, Peter Smith.

Minutes later, Professor Peter Smith told students the cyclist was their classmate.

“Everyone went into tears. Chris is one of the most loved students, one of the most brilliant grad students to come through here,” Smith said.

Weigl was a soft-spoken, talented photographer whom others admired.

“He was just a terrific person. He was so motivated and he really went out of his way to help anyone,” said Michael Cummo, a classmate.

Four weeks ago another BU student was killed when he was hit by an MBTA bus at Harvard Street and Brighton Street.

Read more: http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/12009250109885/bu-student-on-bike-killed-in-collision-with-truck/#ixzz2EOAaCPq6

Christopher Weigl was ready to submit his ­final project of the semester Wednesday for a multimedia class at Boston University when a technical glitch stole all his editing work.

It was the kind of thing that makes the average first-year graduate student crumble. Not Weigl.

He stayed up late Wednesday, finished the project, and sent it electronically to his professor, whose class he was scheduled to attend at 9 a.m. Thursday, said Peter Southwick, director of photojournalism at BU’s College of Communication.

Weigl never made that class. The 23-year-old photojournalism grad student was killed on Commonwealth Avenue at 8:36 a.m. Thursday after his bicycle collided with a tractor-trailer turning onto St. Paul Street.

…

Boston police said Weigl, who was riding in a marked bike lane, was wearing a helmet Thursday.
A bicyclist joined in the vigil for Christopher Weigl.

Barry Chin/Globe Staff

A bicyclist joined in the vigil for Christopher Weigl.

“He was a calm hand on the wheel, had tons of common sense, very aware of the risks of riding a bike,” said Charlie ­Maher, one of his three roommates. “He was smart. He wasn’t some reckless kid on a bike without a helmet. That’s not the way he is at all.”

The professor in Weigl’s multimedia class, Peter Smith, canceled regular class affairs Thursday, opting to honor Weigl’s memory by showing his final project and another student’s project, which happened to be a video profile of Weigl.

Dan Herard, Weigl’s roommate and friend since grade school, said Weigl was the glue that kept friendships together. A “goofy” guy who always had a smile on his face, Weigl enjoyed the outdoors, dancing to techno music, and seemed to befriend everyone he met, Herard said.

“He always kept a positive attitude,” Herard said. “He was one of those people. Drove some people nuts because he was always happy. He was just Chris; there’s so much that ­encapsulates that.”

Kuan Liu was aboard the Green Line’s B train Thursday morning when she came upon the chaotic scene on Commonwealth Avenue: a body covered in a white sheet under a tractor-trailer. A devastated Liu later learned the person under that sheet was the very first friend she made at BU, where she is enrolled as an international student. He was her assigned ambassador at the school, helping her navigate a new school and country.

Weigl would invite Liu to his Brighton apartment, as he did all his friends, to watch television. When Liu could not under­stand what was being said, Weigl would patiently ­explain it all.

“He would always help me. He would walk me home when I was by myself to make sure I’m safe,” Liu said. “I can’t imagine this person in my life is the person under the white cloth.”(via)

“He was one of the best graduate students I’ve had here; he took responsibility for all of his work and met every deadline,” senior lecturer Peter Smith told BU Today. “He was the kind of student you hope for.”(via)

Several years ago I was on a ride of silence (a memorial ride for people killed on bicycle). I came across the father of Mike Hunt. He was there giving out little cards with his sons picture on it, looking us each in the eye, hugging us, and telling each of us thank you for remembering his son.

Tears still come into my eyes when I remember this poor mans face. The natural order of the world had been revoked, and a father was morning the death of his son. I still have that little card, and on days like today, when another young cyclists life has been taken I sometimes look at it and think hard about all the times I have almost been killed while riding my bicycle.

There is something profoundly wrong with the way our transportation system is set up. It doesn’t work for pedestrians, cyclists, or motorists. Car driving is a dead end activity for urban areas. There is nothing good about owning a car in a major city that can’t be supplanted or surpassed by good public transportation, walking and cycling. Our cars are literally going to be the death of us, either through crashes, health problems, or global warming.

The death toll from crashes, asthma, obesity, global warming, and heart attacks must stop. It’s time we stop planning our infrastructure around how best to accommodate current conditions, and start planning our infrastructure around what we want our cities to look like. We need to set goals, and work our way towards them.

Its time we take a hard look at when and how we let large vehicles use our streets. Its time we start decreasing the number of cars that use our streets. Its time we dramatically improve the cyclist and pedestrian infrastructure in our city. Its time we get creative with how we fund public transportation.

We shouldn’t accept a single death from driving a car, walking, or cycling. Its simply unacceptable that people die while just trying to move from point A to point B.

My heart breaks for the family of Chris Wiegl. I think about him and and I worry about what my own mother would have to go through had I been the victim of such a senseless act of carelessness. We must find a way to end this.

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Cyclist Killed On Comm. Ave By Semi-Truck

Its happened again…

(img src)

U-hub reports:

A bicyclist did not survive a collision this morning with a semi at Comm. Ave. inbound at St. Paul St..

At 8:51, Sasha tweeted from a passing trolley:

Body covered by a tarp. RIP. what a bad start to the morn.

By coincidence, a City Council committee holds a hearing on making Boston safer for bicyclists today at noon at City Hall.

More info when I get it:

NPR reports, that a cyclist was in a bike lane when the semi-truck made a right turn and hit him. Was a white male in his 20’s.

(img src)

Bostinno reports:

According to Boston Police, at 8:36 a.m., a cyclist was struck by an 18-wheeler at the intersection of St. Paul Street and Commonwealth Avenue, near Boston University campus. Police closed down the 900 block where the accident occurred.

Police confirmed at 9:49 a.m. that the cyclist died as a result of the accident.

People reported seeing a sheet over the bike and the victim at the scene as they passed the accident near Boston University’s campus.

EDIT: A picture of the truck.

EDIT: another image of the scene

The globe reports:

Boston police spokeswoman Cheryl Fiandaca said in an e-mail that the bicyclist was killed and that the department’s Homicide Unit is now investigating the incident. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office has also sent a prosecutor to the scene, officials said.

EDIT:
WHDH-TV –

EDIT: Heading to this meeting, on bike safety, see you there, more when I get back.

EDIT:
Students name released:

Christopher Weigl (COM’14), a 23-year-old BU graduate student who was pursuing a master’s in photojournalism at the College of Communication, collided with a 16-wheel tractor-trailer at about 8:30 a.m. Witnesses say Weigl and the truck both were traveling east on Comm Ave and collided when the truck made a wide right turn onto St. Paul Street. The accident is being investigated by the Boston Police Department, which cordoned off the area and closed Comm Ave eastbound. No citations have been issued.

“Chris was just a great guy,” says Sarah Ganzhorn (COM’13), a fellow graduate student in COM’s photojournalism program. “He was always smiling. He was just a really chill guy who never had anything negative to say about anything.”

EDIT: More photos:

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