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Public Help Requested To Help Find Witnesses To Fatal Hit And Run In Wellesley

Written by Boston Biker on Aug 29

From the Wellesley Police Department website:

The Wellesley Police Department in conjunction with the Massachusetts State Police and the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office are continuing to investigate a fatal motor vehicle crash involving a cyclist, Alexander Motsenigos a 41 year old Wellesley resident, which was reported on Friday, August 24, 2012 at 1:58 p.m. on Weston Road near the intersection of Linden Street. The cyclist, Alexander Motsenigos sustained fatal injuries during the crash and was transported from the scene to Newton Wellesley Hospital. Mr. Motsenigos was riding a Specialized bicycle and was wearing a bicycle safety helmet at the time of the crash.

After reviewing video footage from area traffic cameras the vehicle has been identified and located and the apparent operator of the vehicle involved has also been identified and interviewed. The vehicle is an 18 wheel dump trailer. The Wellesley Police Department and Massachusetts State Police are continuing to process all of the evidence related to the crash. As this is an ongoing investigation additional information about the vehicle and the operator are not being released at this time. The video footage confirmed that both the cyclist and the truck were traveling north on Weston Road from Central Street.
The Wellesley Police Department believes there may be other witnesses to this crash. The video footage from area traffic cameras shows three other vehicles that drove through the area in which the crash occurred around the same time, none of these vehicles are believed to have been involved in the crash. The description and photographs of these vehicles are included below. We are urging the individuals who were operating these vehicles or any passengers in these vehicles to contact the Wellesley Police Department at 781-235-1212.

The first possible witness vehicle that the Wellesley Police Department is requesting the public’s help in identifying is a black colored 4 door sedan which was at the intersection of Linden Street at Weston Road at approximately 1:56 p.m. on Friday, August 24, 2012. This vehicle is believed to have been the 2nd car in line that took a left onto the Weston Road bridge and then a right onto Central Street. This vehicle was behind a grey Volvo which has already been identified.

The second possible witness vehicle that the Wellesley Police Department is requesting the public’s help in identifying is a brown or grey colored large SUV with a roof rack and sun or moon roof. It is possibly a Toyota. This vehicle is believed to have been driving south on Weston Road near the intersection of Linden Street at the time of the crash. The vehicle then took a left onto Linden Street and continued down Linden Street through the Crest Road intersection. This vehicle is also pictured in a video that will be released as well.

The third possible witness vehicle that the Wellesley Police Department is requesting the public’s help in identifying is a small dark colored two door sedan or coupe which was travelling directly behind the brown of grey colored large SUV and is believed to have been driving south on Weston Road near the intersection of Linden Street at the time of the crash. The vehicle then took a left onto Linden Street and continued down Linden Street through the Crest Road intersection. Both the 2nd vehicle and 3rd vehicle we are looking to identify are pictured in a video that will be released as well.


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No Decision On Charges In Fatal Hit And Run

Written by Boston Biker on Aug 28

 

Investigators have not decided yet whether to charge the driver they believe struck and killed a bicyclist in Wellesley last week.
No Decision On Charges Yet For Driver In Fatal Wellesley Bike Crash

But sources told WBZ-TV’s I-Team Monday that they are looking very closely at his history.

Alexander Motsenigos, 41, of Wellesley was riding his bike on Weston Road around 2 p.m. Friday when he was hit by a truck.

The truck did not stop and Motsenigos later died.

Police announced Sunday that they had found the truck and the person they believe was driving it at the time of the crash.

Sources told the I-Team they have interviewed the driver, described as a man between 40-and-50 years old with a commercial driver’s license.

His name has not been released, but he was driving the truck for his company at the time of the accident.

When asked why no charges have been filed at this point, sources said the case is ‘very complicated.’ (via)

What the fuck, seriously. This is not ‘very complicated’, this is plane and simple. Why hasn’t this person been charged with a crime? If I ran into the street and beat you to death with a baseball bat then ran off it would be a crime, but if I do it with a car its something you have to ponder over? If they think this is the person who killed Alex Motsenigos, they should charge them with vehicular manslaughter.

Fleeing a scene is usually considered an admission of guilt, at the very least it shows the driver wasn’t even paying attention, at the worst it indicated they know they committed a crime and wanted to flee. This is the worst fear of cyclists, that they can literally be run over and killed and the driver will not even be charged with something.

 

EDIT: Wandering Woman On Wheels has done some more great research on this, thanks so much for keeping on top of this.

 

I don’t see anything about the tanker truck driver in Phyo N. Kyaw’s death, but here is an interesting quote from the “Boston Injury Lawyer’s Blog” which indicates not only the driver, but the city (Cambridge) could be liable for the road conditions that forces trucks to make such wide turns.

“…According to Cambridge police, there have been 27 traffic crashes at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street since the beginning of 2010. If there is a road condition or the intersection as poorly designed so that there really is a higher risk of a motor vehicle crash happening there, then Kyaw’s family may have grounds for a Cambridge personal injury lawsuit.

Meantime, state police are trying to determine whether charges should be filed in Kyaw’s death. If the trucker acted negligently in any way to cause the Cambridge bicycle accident, he/she could be held liable. If the truck driver was working for an employer at the time of the collision, then there also may be a case filed against that company….”

http://www.maximizingprogress.org/2011/12/killed-by-incompetence-latest-mit-death.html

If this is true, it may be safe to assume that in the death of Alexander Motsenigos, not only the driver of the truck, but also the city (Wellesley) could be liable, since the intersection is known to be dangerous, with many accidents and calls for improvements to be made. Note this, from January:

Scary Wellesley intersection — for pedestrians
By bbrown | Published: January 18, 2012
http://theswellesleyreport.com/2012/01/scary-wellesley-intersection-for-pedestrians/

Also, Wellesley police have updated their report to say that it was an 18-wheel dump truck that hit Mr.Motsenigos.

Wellesley police: 18-wheel truck hit cyclist; now seeking more witnesses
By bbrown | Published: August 28, 2012
http://theswellesleyreport.com/2012/08/wellesley-police-seek-more-help-to-find-cycling-accident-witnesses/

and

UPDATED JOINT RELEASE OF THE WELLESLEY POLICE DEPARTMENT AND NORFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
http://www.wellesleypolice.com/index.cfm?cdid=11491&pid=10237

I think we need to be patient. Of course we are outraged and distressed. But we have to wait until more information comes to light.

In the meantime, anyone wishing to pay their respects at the service or funeral, send flowers, make a donation or light a candle in his memory can visit this site:

http://www.faggas.com/book-of-memories/1323778/Motsenigos-Alexander/index.php

My heart goes out to his family, friends and loved ones.


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