Driver With 48 Priors, Arrested On Friday, Gets Car Back On Saturday, Kills Cyclist Sunday

What the fuck.  Seriously what do you have to do to have your car licence taken from you in this country.  It is a sadly true saying, if you want to kill someone and get away with it, just wait until they get on a bicycle.

I hope this asshole rots in prison for the rest of his life, but sadly I doubt he will.

Police say Edward King could barely stay awake when officers found him stopped in the middle of the road in Weymouth on Friday night, his legs hanging out of the car and traffic backing up behind him.
He appeared “confused and off balance” and was carrying a two-day-old bottle of prescription drugs that was already half-empty, police said.
He was arrested and charged with drugged driving, but King was back behind the wheel Sunday when, according to police, he was involved in a crash in Braintree that sent a bicyclist to the hospital with serious injuries. That bicyclist, 53-year-old William Donovan of Braintree, died Tuesday.
King, a 41-year-old Braintree resident, was arraigned Monday on two counts of driving under the influence of drugs and one count each of negligent driving, violating marked lanes and failing to yield to a bicycle. Those charges stem from both the Weymouth and Braintree arrests.
David Traub, spokesman for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office, said police are investigating and could seek additional charges following Donovan’s death.
Weymouth police arrested King shortly after midnight Friday. He was released about an hour later after posting the $40 bail set by a Quincy District Court bail commissioner. Police say they seized King’s car and asked the Registry of Motor Vehicles to revoke his license after his arrest early Saturday morning. But King was able to pick up the car after a 12-hour hold expired on Saturday afternoon and the Registry did not process the department’s request until Monday when it revoked his license indefinitely.

King also had a long history of crashes and run-ins with the law before last week, according to court documents. In setting his bail, Judge Mark Coven said King had at least five crashes since 1990 and a total of 48 convictions, including 36 that sent him behind bars. King’s driving record shows five surchargeable accidents since 1991. That list includes an accident in Braintree in March and in Dorchester in April.(more here)

Getting drunk or high and running someone over with your car is no different than getting drunk or high and shooting someone with a gun. They are both pieces of metal under your control, and they can both easily kill someone.

Fuck this guy, and fuck the system that lets someone like this continue to get back behind a wheel.

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Help ID A Cyclist

In a sad story, an unitentified man who was probably a cyclist washed up on the beach last week.  Authorities need our help trying to identify him. (thanks Marcie for the tip)

From the Suffolk District Attorney:

——————-

Authorities Seeking ID of Revere Beach Remains

BOSTON, May 5, 2014—State Police detectives assigned to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office are seeking the public’s help in identifying a man whose remains washed up on Revere Beach last week.

The conditions of the remains have thus far hindered investigators’ efforts to identify the man or determine his ethnicity, but forensic anthropologists consulted by the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit have opined that he was an adult between 20 and 40 years old – and likely on the younger end of that range.

The jeans themselves were American Eagle brand blue jeans with a 30” waist, suggesting a slim build, cinched with a black, braided leather belt. Inside one of the pockets was the key to a Kryptonite bicycle lock.  The key was not registered.  He was also wearing boxer shorts bearing an image resembling a Volkswagen Bug with a surfboard on its rooftop.

A passerby spotted the remains in shallow water along the shoreline at about 11:30 on April 30 and contacted State Police, who, with Revere Police, are attempting to locate his family or friends. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has not yet determined the cause or manner of his death.

“Somewhere, there may be a mother, father, son, or daughter suffering the worst kind of uncertainty,” Conley said. “If we can identify this man, we can at least put an end to that waiting and worrying and allow them some closure. Even if members of the public don’t have specific information, they can share these details online and, perhaps, help us reach the loved ones who need to know.”

State Police detectives have already begun reviewing missing persons reports that may be of assistance and, through the Commonwealth Fusion Center, have notified law enforcement agencies across Massachusetts of their investigation. Members of the public who have specific information may call the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit at 617-727-8817. Others without information but who wish to help are asked share the following link: http://wp.me/pKHdm-1Vk.

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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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Christopher Weigl’s Parents Sue Trucking Company

Ten months after Christopher Weigl, a 23-year-old graduate student, was killed on his bicycle in Allston, the man’s family has sued the truck driver and trucking company involved in the crash, arguing that the company has a responsibility to train drivers to watch for cyclists in dense urban areas.

The lawsuit reflects frustration within Weigl’s family and the Boston cycling community at the lack of criminal charges in the case and channels the growing sentiment among bike advocates that the trucking industry should be proactive in preventing bicycle crashes.

In a complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court, Weigl’s family contends that the crash in December was the result of negligence on the part of the driver, John A. Brothers of Uxbridge, and the company that employs him, New Hampshire-based Ross Express.(Via)

Some very interesting things could come from this lawsuit. Having large trucks in an urban center requires that the large truck operators be highly trained. I hope the family gets some justice.

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