Friday, March 1, 2013
NECN's BroadSide examines the Weston Road hit-and-run crash and the verdict with cycling advocates.
We may never know why the grand jury elected not to indict in the hit-and-run crash that took the life of 41-year-old Alex Motsenigos, but some suggest it is a larger issue than one case. The incident was a topic of discussion on NECN's BroadSide with Jim Braude earlier this week. He sat down with David Watson, executive director of MassBike, and Josh Zisson, a lawyer who writes the Bike Safe Boston blog. Both spoke to the Globe in their report on the outcome. The failing, Watson told Braude, was not on the police or prosecutors, but on the members of the grand jury connecting more to the driver of the truck, Dana McCoomb. He supposed a lack of empathy could have been a factor. The grand jury proceedings are secret, so Zisson could not …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Before the crash, Patch readers voted the Weston Road-Linden Street intersection one of the most dangerous in Wellesley.
A Massachusetts grand jury returned no indictments against truck driver Dana McCoomb in the Weston Road hit-and-run from last year. The Boston Globe reports that the area cycling community is reacting with anger to this case. During the trial, Wellesley Police Chief Terrence Cunningham tells the Globe he got the impression that one juror did not understand that, in this situation, the driver of the truck was obligated to yield to the cyclist. “Personally, I don’t feel they [the grand jury] followed the law,” Chief Cunningham said to the Globe. “But that’s the process.” Warning against speculating on the jury's decision, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey added that he thinks there may be an overall bias against cyclists, …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Civil suit filed on Jan. 30 against driver of truck involved in hit-and-run crash in Wellesley last August.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Civil suit filed on Jan. 30 against driver of truck involved in hit-and-run crash in Wellesley last August.
There were no indictments, but there may be a civil suit against the truck driver involved in last summer's Weston Road hit-and-run crash. The grand jury came in yesterday on last August’s fatal crash on Weston Road, and police are closing the case, saying there are no further options to pursue criminal charges against the driver after the grand jury elected not to indict. Cyclist Alexander Motsenigos' family, however, is not giving up yet. The Globe reports that his family has filed a wrongful death suit against the driver of the truck. In a statement posted on the Swellesley Report yesterday, the Motsenigos family thanked the Wellesley Police Department for their work on the case, and that "if the truck driver had used even basic …
Police closing case against driver of vehicle involved in hit-and-run which killed a Wellesley cyclist last year.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Police closing case against driver of vehicle involved in hit-and-run which killed a Wellesley cyclist last year.
The grand jury is in on last August’s fatal crash on Weston Road, and police are closing the case. A statement from the Wellesley Police Department indicates that the case is now closed, and there are no further options to pursue criminal charges against the driver after the grand jury elected not to indict. Police say they have spent three months investigating the crash, including a systematic reconstruction with trucking experts. Wellesley and State police, as well as the District Attorney's office believed there was probably cause to seek charges against the driver of the 18-wheeler. A press release from the police department indicates police and the DA had brought forth charges motor vehicle homicide, precautions for the safety of…
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
An all-white bike was locked to the tree where a local biker was killed in a summertime crash, and disappeared about as quickly.
If you have seen a white bike locked to a post or tree in your travels, you have seen a ghost bike. They are memorials to cyclists who have been killed, and intended to raise awareness about bike safety. One of these memorials briefly appeared at the intersection of Linden Street and Weston Street, where where cyclist Alexander Motsenigos lost his life after he was struck by a passing truck one afternoon this summer. According to the Swellesley Report, it was there on Sunday, and gone on Monday. A memorial was set up at the site during the week following the crash, and passing cyclists and fellow Pan-Mass Challenge riders stopped to pay their respects to Motsenigos. He was hit by a truck as both were traveling northbound on Weston Road …
Mike Brennan
4:57 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The sad part of your idiotic comments is that you don't seem to recognize the tragedy for all involved here regardless of fault. That said, current laws allow cyclists to ride on the road. It's actually against the law for them (us) to ride on sidewalks. But let me guess, you're the guy who brakes for a squirrel in the middle of the road and then 1/4 mile later goes into a rage about a couple of … more ›