Hey, there! Log in / Register

Bicyclist critically injured in crash with SUV driver at Albany and East Berkeley streets

By adamg on Fri, 12/27/2024 - 5:10pm
Investigators take photos at crash scence

Bicycle, evidence markers and investigators at crash scene. Photo by Shamus Moynihan.

A bicyclist suffered critical injuries in a crash at Albany and East Berkeley streets in the South End shortly after 11:10 a.m.

Because of the severity of his injuries, the homicide and fatal-accident reconstruction units were called in. Investigators were still on scene around 2 p.m.

Neighborhoods: 
South End
Topics: 
Driving
Free tagging: 
East Berkeley Street
Albany Street
Bicycling


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

By Peat on Fri, 12/27/2024 - 6:02pm.

and not far from the South Bay Harbor Trail. I've never felt safe biking around there.

By Kinopio on Fri, 12/27/2024 - 7:14pm.

The city has never been safer, period," Police Commissioner Michael Cox said at a press conference at BPD headquarters today.

Unless you are a pedestrian or cyclist. It’s great that gun violence is down, but the number of people being killed or seriously injured by drivers is up. Cops refuse to do their job and enforce traffic laws and judges treat criminal drivers like delicate flowers. The pieces of trash who speed and play with their phones while driving are a threat to everyone.

By JP Resident on Fri, 12/27/2024 - 10:55pm.

There’s an epidemic of people driving while using phones and everyone seems OK with it. It’s maddening.

By Joi on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 12:45am.

You can slice that cake both ways, I see plenty of cyclists on their phones and not obeying the rules of the road.

By Peat on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 11:10am.

With one of the only differences being a few thousand pounds and the consequences of physics

By Lee on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 11:33am.

Lose the fantasy. No one falls for it. Not even arrogant phonies like you.

By anon on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 12:32pm.

As a long time pedestrian in Boston, I can tell you that the vast majority of bicyclists that I encounter do not obey the rules of the road. The vast majority of bicyclists that I see do not stop at red lights. That is a fact.
As for the other allegation of looking at the phone, I see that sometimes but not as often as ignoring red lights.

By downtown-anon on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 6:54pm.

This is a common take. It doesn't make sense, but it is there just the same.

By SwirlyGrrl on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 5:49pm.

Now run along and stop driving with your phone in your face.

Remember: drivers fucking around KILL OTHER PEOPLE BY THE THOUSANDS. Cyclists assume far more of the risks of their own stupidity.

By Bogo on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 7:31am.

This. There is NO enforcement of traffic laws, as far as I can tell. Not just speeding and phone use, but parking in bike lanes, driving in bike lanes, red lights, stopping for pedestrians at cross walks, excessively loud music, etc. SUV seen just driving down the bike lane on American Legion Highway. Driver nearly ran me over in a cross walk… then got out ann hit me when I took issue. When was the last time you saw the police actually enforcing traffic laws?

By nancy farrington on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 8:46am.

This is a city. Walk or take public transit for God's sake.

By anon on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 10:48am.

the number of people being killed or seriously injured by drivers is up

Please provide link to data. Thanks

By Lee on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 11:35am.

Take a look for yourself.

By anon on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 12:24pm.

"pretty much reported everywhere" is not data.

If these alleged facts are true, then the original commenter that I was responding to either will or will not provide. Since they made the allegation, I would think they have the data.

Btw, it is reported everywhere that all bicyclists run red lights and stop signs. In my experience that is true. But it is not data.

By SwirlyGrrl on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 5:51pm.

This took me 5 seconds to find - probably less time than it took you to type in the CAPTCHA to make an anonymous comment. https://smartgrowthamerica.org/pedestrian-fatalities-at-historic-high/

By anon on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 10:19pm.

It took you 5 seconds to find the wrong answer.
The question was in reference to a comment about the city of Boston, not the entire country.
So the question remains, is there data to support the claim that Kinopio made about Boston?

By Waquiot on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 10:27pm.

I mean, I'm fairly certain Trump was running on violent crime rates from 2021, so I guess all is fair.

But to the actual point, would anyone know how the 2024 data is actually trending for Boston, vis a vis motor vehicle crashes and fatalities involving motor vehicle crashes. Across the spectrum, it would be nice to know what the local trends are.

By Waquiot on Sun, 12/29/2024 - 10:44pm.

I'm sure you saw the Boston Globe article on traffic cameras today, but for the benefit of those too cheap to pay for news, here's a quote from the Chief of Streets-

While Boston has reported a decline in traffic deaths and injuries over the past decade, there has been a modest uptick in crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists, Franklin-Hodge said.

Not quite a cause for celebration, I'd say that Boston is doing okay.

By Lee on Mon, 12/30/2024 - 10:50am.

…. can afford things you can.

Boston is not doing okay. No one, no pedestrian, no cyclist, no wheelchair user, no motor vehicle passenger should ever be harmed on Boston streets.

By anon on Fri, 12/27/2024 - 6:08pm.

intersection thanks to the crazy traffic pattern BTD approved. I hope the impending lawsuit teaches the City a lesson. Everyone could see this coming.

By Lee on Fri, 12/27/2024 - 8:00pm.

East Berkeley/Berkeley is a speedway all the way through to the Storrow on ramp.

About six this evening I was grazed by a red light runner at Berkeley and Boylston. She never even turned her head. Just full speed ahead in her killing machine.

By chance, I was lucky. This cyclist was not.

By SnoopJ on Fri, 12/27/2024 - 8:59pm.

This intersection is horrible, and there's just no splitting hairs about it: the city plans for these incidents (certainly not "accidents"). There is a West-bound bike lane on Traveler Street that dumps cyclists unceremoniously into traffic on East Berkeley. Only the fact that there are *always* parked cars on the right-hand side makes it possible to proceed North on a bicycle, and the stretch by the community garden is no picnic.

For a cyclist headed for Mass Ave., turning onto Albany Street has regrettably been one of the better options for too long. Now that Tremont Street has separated infrastructure, it's a better bet to take East Berkeley there, but it's still terrible.

Failing to plan is planning to fail, and the absence of cycling infrastructure in this area tells me that the city fully expects events like this one.

I hope the cyclist recovers, and that the city stops paying for driver convenience with cyclist and pedestrian blood.

By TiminSouthie on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 10:37pm.

There is a West-bound bike lane on Traveler Street that dumps cyclists unceremoniously into traffic on East Berkeley.

But I don’t think that Traveler intersects w/ E Berkeley. Heading westbound, it dumps into Harrison or Washington.

By anon on Sun, 12/29/2024 - 10:54am.

That cuts both ways. Cyclists tend to be younger, invincible people who have no sense for how reckless and foolish it is to bicycle on streets.

A 15 mph collision for a car means a few thousand dollars in damage. No big deal. A 15 mph collision for a bicycle can mean a fucked up knee or back for the rest of your life.

By runforit on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 9:14am.

While reading the comments on this crash I am seeing an ad on this page for driving a supercar with a photo of a (give or take) $200k 200mph supercar...

As a frequent cyclist and pedestrian I find crossing under 93 there quite uncomfortable and not safe. The highway is above, not on the surface streets.

By Lee on Sat, 12/28/2024 - 10:14am.

… for about 2 years. It was harrowing. Extreme caution on my part was not enough to keep me safe, only pure luck and the grace of some drivers who did actually drive at a safe speed and who obeyed traffic lights and stop signs. I was never actually hit but the stress of near misses took a toll on me.
What happened to this poor unfortunate person yesterday is inexcusable. But it will be swept under the rug.

By TiminSouthie on Sun, 12/29/2024 - 8:09am.

This intersection all the time and I agree. People race down Albany, trying to make / run the lights.

E Berkeley is a race to Storrow as mentioned above.

Another terrible street for cars going way too fast is St. James from Arlington to the Pike entrance. I work in the Hancock (er, 200 Clarendon) and cross there all the time. Have had several near misses.

I’d love for the city to put speed humps on all of these streets to at least slow things down.

After that, I’d like to make up for 60 years of mal-investment in the T overnight.

By Lee on Sun, 12/29/2024 - 8:46am.

I cross it on foot several times a week at either Clarendon or the crosswalk you mention which is even dicier. Trying to get the speeders and texters to stop there is frustrating and death defying. Speed humps or raised crosswalks are badly needed on St James.

By Ron Newman on Sun, 12/29/2024 - 6:08pm.

My bike and I once got blown all the way off the road to the curb by the wind coming off what was then still called the John Hancock Tower.