Jonathan Dame has a piece out this afternoon focusing on reaction from cyclists to Newton’s bike infrastructure. The TL;DR version: it’s lacking.
Of course this stems from the ongoing investigation into the crash last week that left a 17-year-old cyclist in the hospital. According to Dame, the 93-year-old driver has not been charged with anything, at least for now.
Police, he says, are continuing their investigation. I was told the same thing when I called last week and it was suggested at the time that they hadn’t yet spoken with the student. I do not know if they have had that conversation. But during that call the Sweet Tomatoes crash came up and I was told that investigations take time.
My question for people on this board is this: How much time is reasonable? I understand that an investigation isn’t what we see on TV, it’s complicated and involves a number of data points. But when is it long enough to expect some kind of public statement?
I think cycling infrastructure in Newton is generally pretty good, but it depends on the route.
Comm Ave. is a gem — generous bike lane/dual-purpose bike & parking lane for brisk commuters, and a carriage lane for more leisurely cycling. The rail trail behind Needham Street is a decent asset (at least as a commuter bypass of the street). The bike lane on Beacon from Newton Centre to Brookline is solid. North-South routes like Chestnut, Walnut, Centre and Waverley are more spotty.
In my experience, drivers in Newton have gotten better but it still feels dicey to ride a bike in the city. Especially this time of year when a wave of returning college students join commuters back from vacation.
Chuck’s questions reminded me of the Evan Hoffman investigation. Hoffman was driving his car in June 2011 when it crossed the double yellow lines and crashed head-on into a mini-van, killing its driver Jose Puzul-Peres. This accident took place two hours after Hoffman had been released on bail in Boston following his arrest for malicious destruction of property and disorderly conduct. He had a lengthy list of previous driving infractions, including an OUI for which his driver’s license suspension had been lifted two days earlier.
It took seven months for the DA to bring charges (negligent motor vehicle homicide, speeding, marked lanes violation). We asked many times why it was taking so long and I was told that’s how investigations go. If I remember correctly, the state’s accident reconstruction report took many months.
Hoffman pleaded guilty to the charges.
Finally, the Sweet Tomatoes crash investigation is moving forward. The driver, Bradford Casler, was indicted on two counts of motor vehicle homicide and one count of operating a motor vehicle to endanger.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/09/07/driver-charged-fatal-sweet-tomatoes-crash-newton-march/dysoXmwIKXEuSnIbtYqEWL/story.html
If it takes this long to do the investigation right and increase the chances of a conviction, then IMO it’s worth waiting for.
It’s a valid point, and one that the police made to me on the phone, saying that they have one chance to do it right.
But this is all speculation without data. I would also guess that judging the “success” of an investigation by conviction rate has its own issues.
In the meantime the police or any other authority fails to take actions to address any issues that might prevent this from happening again. Today I drove down Walnut St. from the Highlands to Four Corners. I saw 2 separate cyclists ridding north in the contra (e.g. wrong direction), same as this young man. I also noticed how many cars going both directions were straddling the bike lane.
Friday another cyclist was hit in Newton.
From the Tab:
“A cyclist was taken to the hospital after being hit by a car on Winchester and Nahanton streets. The accident occurred around 2 p.m. Friday, according to Lt. Erik Fricke of the Fire Department.”
@Gail. Whatever happened to Evan Hoffman and where is he now?
@Chuck – I wasn’t suggesting judging the success of an investigation by it’s conviction rate. However, it’s very hard to get a driver convicted in situations like this, so it’s good for the police to make their final analysis as tight and convincing as possible. There was an article in the Globe a few years ago about a frustrating situation where police (don’t remember where, maybe Wellesley?) had about as bullet-proof a case as possible against a truck driver who hit a bicyclist and they still lost. So I’m not going to fault the police if it takes accident reconstruction specialists and other investigators time to do it right, therefore increasing the likelihood of being able to obtain a conviction.