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Bicyclist hit in Back Bay dies; police narrow search for car
By adamg on Mon, 05/01/2017 - 8:12pm
Car looks like this, but with orange license plates and damage.
Family and friends of Rick Archer say he died today, after being hit by a car whose driver then kept going early Sunday.
Meanwhile, police now say the car that hit him was a silver Camry, made between 2015 and 2017, with orange license plates, possibly from New York State.
The motor vehicle is also believed to have damage to the front end and roof, as well as above the driver's side door.
If you see a car like that, contact detectives at 617-343-4470 or the anonymous tip line by calling 800-494-TIPS or by texting TIP to CRIME (27463).
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Comments
Before the usual back and forth starts...
... With the victim blaming and the "cars vs bikes" arguments and the finger pointing and the while pointless comment troll thing that happens every time bikes get mentioned on universal hub. Before we start all that, I'd like to say this.
I was in his circle. We had over 100 mutual friends on Facebook. I'd met him, and was facebook friends with him, and went to the same events as him, and it wasn't super unusual for someone in our group to be out late on a Saturday night. He was a real person. He had friends (lots of them) and a family who loved him and he was solid guy.
A real person died today. Please respect that. If you want to be nasty, take it somewhere else. It's not his fault for riding a bike. This is not the place to go on rants about drivers in general, or bicyclists in general, or pedestrians in general. This is not the place to talk about that one time you saw someone do something on a street. His friends and family will see this.
If you have any info about the asshole who killed him, please call the number in the post. If you have any fond memories of Rick, maybe share them here if you're willing. Otherwise, STFU. Participating in Internet arguments about bikes won't bring him back.
Seconding what Jason said.
Rick was a very sweet man. In the short time I was fortunate enough to know him I was always very impressed by what a friendly, articulate, and funny young man he was. This must be a terrible loss to his family, and my sympathies go out to his close friends, who I see were many.
Vision Zero "Traffic deaths are preventable and unacceptable."
Ummm I'm literally almost hit
Ummm I'm literally almost hit by a car on a daily basis where I live in South Boston and have asked for stop signs or just something to make the crosswalk a little safer....City of Boston said there is nothing they can do and closed my case.
RIP Rick
Sincere condolences to family and friends. I've said this before upon other deaths. Please, please, please ignore this site and the comments. Nobody here knew your beloved. Many will sympathize but many more will feel the need to push their own agendas.
Ignore them and all other internet/ social media nonsense. Grieve and bury your kin and cherish their memory. Ignore the noise.
Stay strong.
i mean
ill catch flak for this but people have a right to discuss things like bicycles and cars on the road on an article about bicycles and cars, on a road. your proximity to the event, while unfortunate, isn't grounds for you to disqualify all the conversation you don't approve of. this isn't a funeral parlor or a memorial service. it is a public forum for the discussion of news & local events.
Can =/= should
I don't know, man, I just think people would rather not have the conversation right now. You're welcome to have it. Your opinion's pretty important, that's for sure.
Don't look now
But your neckbeard might be trying to take over your brain.
Nope.
This is a local forum that discusses, largely, local events. So to ban discussion of ancillary aspects of an event because of a personal connection is a bit purpose defeating, sorry.
I've felt the same way when it bad things happen to people I know and they're discussed here, as i do now.
Great.
n/t
Where have I seen this argument before
Local form yes
But you've repeatedly demonstrated a lack of decency. It shouldn't be hard to understand the grief of loved ones. You may not realize this but when something happens to a loved one, people tend to seek out information related to that person. If they wind up on uhub, which is likely because Adam does a great job curating local stories, the last thing they want to read is some of the nonsense that goes on especially in bike/car comments. Maybe just keep that in mind and give them at least a day to digest just the information, and not the vast opinions that are out there.
Because it's never been about
promoting public safety awareness, or anything like that. It's to say "see? I've told you so," which is what bad people think good people do.
Nobody's enlightened when someone wanders into a thread and says "well maybe they wouldn't have gotten ________ if they weren't _________." It's just self-aggrandizing troublemaking. Nothing good comes of it.
I'm kind of with you
But the discussion should be done in a respectful way.
I mean, you saw the first comment when this was first reported. That was over the top, and we were talking about just an injured person at the time. I think finger pointing about an incident where none of the commenters were witnesses is a bit crass overall, but when you put a name to the victim, it changes a bit. I've commented towards the center of the spectrum, but I'm not ready to condemn anyone (except for the running part. That's never right.)
On the other hand, like you say, this is a public forum. There's an odd intersection. Back in the day, you might make catty comments at the local breakfast spot among the locals that you would never say to the friends and family of the victim because, well, they're hurting. Where does this website sit- the corner store or church?
Talking about the importance
Talking about the importance of helmets just because the person was killed in a cycling accident is basically talking about the importance of eating healthy and exercising because the person is the casket is overweight. Despite the fact that you have no idea what this person eats or does everyday. And this place that we are discussing is like a public white board that the victims family might not see but might just see because of all the people standing around the board reading it and putting up their own notes
And we're having that discussion
On a different post. Let's keep it there.
Good idea
N/t
Thanks
Oh wow, thanks for your incredible insight and wisdom, and your abject bravery in coming out and standing against the bereaved in the name of (incredibly important) internet commentary by the totally removed. We all hope to one day attain your ability to make sure grief-stricken people don't go around unchallenged when asking for respect and consideration on forums where such consideration would obviously hamper the ability for people who have opinions about articles they've read to post those amazing, earth-shattering opinions. I hope to one day live in a world where everyone has the courage and inclination to put those devestated by loss firmly in their place, and make sure their pleas aren't simply passed over under the guise of compassion or mercy or some sort of wimpy emotion that clearly has no place in public forums. You're a hero.
Mob response
The way I see some of the responses is that people who want to shut down any discussion believe that the pubic forum is an extension of their privacy. The idea that the public sphere is separate from the private sphere is a quaint but no longer respected idea. The two concepts converged so that the rules which would apply in the private sphere (at the funeral) now apply to the pubic sphere (an online discussion). The irony is that the demand that the discussion be liimited to sanitized expressions of condolence ends with the violent language of STFU.. In other words the writer can express his/her grief (and perhaps fear that they could have been hit) but others may not express their grief or fears they use virtually the same words are used.
Then if somebody has the temerity to disagree with the acceptable consensus the mob attacks with flaming emails and text messages.
Is this an appropriate occasion to bring up the issue of biking safety? Well if not when the issue is current then when? Most folks have short attention spans. It's not unless an event happens to a person directly and with heavy force that an incident will be remembered. This fellow's death can help keep others alive by raising the issue that there are dangerous car drivers. But if the only acceptable responses are sanitized then the young man's tragic death is left without any impact that might help save another person's life. Isn't saving another person's life important?
So because you can't be
So because you can't be bothered to remember to express your concern (trolling) at some other time it is ok to bring it when an innocent person has died? Blaming the victim is a natural human response. Death is sad and scary. When someone dies we automatically tried to see a reason that it happened that was under the victims control. Because if we believe that the victim made a mistake then we believe we can avoid death because we won't make that mistake. It is a natural response but evolve beyond this hurtful knee jerk response.
I have no intention of trying to sanitize or control free discussion. I am calling out victim blaming and asking you to wake up and control yourself. Unless causing pain is your intention then there is no use for that here. no magical helmet or defensive riding could have prevented this.
I am not blaming the victim
A couple of things. One is that I am addressing the turning of a public forum into a private place for grieving. We can grieve in the public place. But that does not mean that the social rules that would be appropriate at a funeral apply here. Respect is needed; respect is always needed. But limiting comments to just a statement of grief is to shut down the possibility that this tragedy can save another person.
When someone dies not everyone wants to figure out the person contributed to their death. Except in the rare times when someone actually did do something that contributed to their death (and NO ONE is suggesting that here) I think most people try to simply accept their death.
Not knowing you I don't know your age. If you were a teenager or adult during the 80s you would have seen homophobes trying to blame AIDS on Gay people as "Gods's punishment." That was scapegoating and hysteria and that was blaming the victim. That is not what is happening here.
Discussing defensive biking, wearing helmets, using lights are all valid because these things can save lives. I don't think anyone suggested that any of those things would have saved the young man's life. No one knows what happened. So that particular discussion can not go anywhere.
But to discount me or anyone who values safety is wrong. Attacking with with inflammatory words ("wake up and control yourself"), accusations of wanting to cause pain or sarcasm such as words like magic helmet just makes things worse.
If you want to put your grief to action then instead of attacking people who are concerned about safety try instead to push legislators and the mayor to install cycle tracks throughout the city. Scapegoating people who say things a person dislikes doesn't do any good. But perhaps this man's death, or the deaths of last year, such as the doctor who was killed while biking, can do good by proving that cycle tracks and safety are important and necessary.
you don't honestly value safety.
If that was true you would talk about helmets, etc. at other times. But the only time you bring this up is after a cycling death. Otherwise you don't care that much.
There is not much science that says helmets make a difference in accidents involving and a bicycle and a car. It if very true that in a vacuum of just head injuries, helmets improve survival, but there is no provable effect in car vs bicycle accident.
This whole long post is just rationalizing victim blaming.
google victim blaming and there is a pic of your post
This is more like someone like you saying well you know condoms prevent the transmission of HIV when someone dies of AIDs. All you know is that they contracted hiv from an unknown person that fled the scene. but condoms and and sex with strangers... It would be heartless and evil to say that when it seems like the victim may have been raped or attacked but you know condoms...
Sorry for your loss
I'm truly sorry for your loss, and that of all his friends and family. I hope that you and they may be comforted. And...keep riding.
I am really sad to hear this
I am really sad to hear this update. So sad. Rest In Peace sweet man.
Car found
http://www.wcvb.com/article/new-details-released-in-search-for-hit-and-r...
I am so glad they found the car
And I am so sorry to hear the cyclist died. May he rest in peace.