When people think about truck accidents, the common image of a highway or interstate crash may come to mind. Maybe we associate trucks with the open road and interstate travel. However, trucks come in a variety of forms. Tractor trailers may be involved in interstate transport. Box trucks may be involved with more localized deliveries. But, trucks are also used in a variety of other industries, from construction to hauling garbage.
Authorities say that a garbage truck was involved in a fatal accident in the area of Beacon Street and Charlesgate West in Boston, Massachusetts Sunday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. Police say that the garbage truck struck a woman riding her bicycle. The driver of the truck reportedly did not stop. The bicycle accident victim was wearing a helmet, but even safety gear may not be enough in a battle between a bicyclist and a garbage truck.
Law enforcement says that the bike and truck accident victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Meanwhile, authorities continue to investigate the fatal crash. Police have made contact with the person authorities believe was driving the garbage truck involved in the fatal wreck. Investigators say that the truck driver may not have seen the woman on the bike before the fatal accident. Law enforcement thinks the driver may not have even known that he struck the bicyclist. No charges have been filed. The truck driver reportedly is cooperating in the investigation.
The woman killed in the truck and bicycle accident reportedly was in Massachusetts from Japan. She was a visiting scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Source: Boston Herald, “BPD: Driver suspected in cyclist’s death ‘cooperating’,” Laurel J. Sweet, May 20, 2013; Boston Police: Driver Sought In Deadly Accident Is Cooperating,” CBS- Associated Press, May 20, 2013
