Updated: Cambridge Woman Bicyclist, 27, Dies After Accident in Inman Square

Posted June 23, 2016 9:37 PM ET; Last updated June 27, 2016 8:22 PM ET

Amanda Phillips, 27, died June 23 after her bike collided with a landscaping truck on Cambridge Street in Inman Square. 
Courtesy photo/Diesel Cafe

[Updated June 27, 2016 8:22 PM ET]
[From article]
Amanda Phillips, an employee of Diesel Café in Somerville and a nursing student at MGH Institute of Health Professions, rode her bike off the sidewalk onto Cambridge Street near Antrim Street around 12:17 p.m. June 23, when she was struck by an open door of a Jeep and pushed into the travel lane where she collided with a moving dump truck, investigators said.
She was transported to Mass. General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead later that evening, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
“Yesterday a tragic bicycle accident claimed an irreplaceable part of our collective hearts, as well as a person that was as genuine and kind as they come,” read a Diesel Café post on June 24. “It is with unbearably heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our dear friend and co-worker Amanda, who left this world too soon.”
Describing the tragedy as one of the “saddest times Diesel has ever experienced,” the café posted a photo of Phillips, thanking the community for the outpouring of love.
Several customers and friends reacted to Phillips’ death in the comment section, calling her a sweet, thoughtful and intelligent woman.
“I have been a daily customer for eight years, and she has been among the kindest people I've been lucky enough to see every day,” wrote Peter Wannemacher. “I am so sad and so sorry for her Diesel family and her loved ones. We will all miss her very much.”
[. . .]
Linda Sands, who lived in the same house as Phillips, said she will miss hearing Phillips walk down the stairs in the morning to walk her dog, “Scutchie.”
“Amanda always has that beautiful smile, always offering to help me with anything I may need,” wrote Sands. “I feel like she was just too good for this earth as this just can't have happened to such a beautiful young girl. My brother and his family and my husband and I are deeply crushed about her loss.”
http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20160627/too-good-for-this-earth-memorial-grows-for-cambridge-woman-killed-on-bicycle

'Too good for this earth:' Memorial grows for Cambridge woman killed on bicycle
By Amy Saltzman
Cambridge Chronicle
Posted Jun. 27, 2016 at 11:07 AM
CAMBRIDGE Chronicle

* * *


Scene of fatal bicycle accident near Inman Square, Cambridge, MA

[Posted June 23, 2016 9:37 PM ET] 

[From article]
A bicyclist who was struck by a vehicle in Cambridge’s Inman Square Thursday afternoon has died.
The cyclist, 27-year-old Amanda Phillips, was struck by a landscaping truck at the intersection of Hampshire and Cambridge Street at about 12:15 p.m. She was taken to Mass. General Hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Witnesses said the woman on the bike either swerved to avoid the door of an SUV or was hit by it, and was then knocked into the path of the truck.
One man said the intersection has long been a problem.
“It was a problem intersection for decades. Now we have all these bicyclists in it and it’s worse,” a man told WBZ-TV’s Christina Hager.
Cambridge’s Traffic, Parking & Transportation Department held a public meeting Wednesday night to discuss safety at the Inman Square intersection. According to a presentation given at that meeting, there were 69 crashes in that intersection during a five-year period from 2008 to 2012, including 15 bicycle-involved crashes.
The meeting outlined some suggestions for changing traffic patterns to address the issues. But long-time resident Jack Walsh is not convinced they can solve the problem.
“The plans they have won’t do much,” Walsh told WBZ NewsRadio 1030’s Lana Jones Thursday. “It’s too many cars, too many bicycles, too many people trying to cross the street.”
Cambridge Street was closed from the square to Fayette Street Thursday afternoon, as a Massachusetts State Police accident reconstruction team investigated the crash.
The intersection reopened around 5 p.m.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/06/23/cambridge-cyclist-crash-inman-square/

Bicyclist Dies After Being Struck By Truck In Cambridge

June 23, 2016 8:35 PM
CBS News Boston MA

* * *

http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20160623/bicyclist-critically-injured-in-inman-square-crash-in-cambridge

Bicyclist critically injured in Inman Square crash in Cambridge
By Amy Saltzman
Cambridge (at) wickedlocal.com
Posted Jun. 23, 2016 at 2:01 PM
Updated at 5:22 PM
CAMBRIDGE Chronicle

Cambridge, MA Firemen Save Woman Trapped After Accident

Cambridge, MA firemen saved an elder woman trapped in her car which crashed on Kirkland Street, Cambridge, at about 5:45 PM on Thursday, May 26, 2016. I did not see the accident but was walking along Kirkland Street as the emergency vehicles were still arriving. Several firemen worked to extract the woman from her car. One fireman actually climbed into the car to free her. She was alert and talking to emergency responders as they strapped her onto a gurney to take her to a hospital. Her car was upside down, and badly damaged, having turned over after the accident. Another vehicle showed damage in the rear from the collision. That driver did not appear to be injured as he spoke with police officers.



Police interviewed witnesses as I left at about 6:15 PM. I do not have images or video. Some bystanders were capturing video on their cell phones. One woman was capturing still images with a camera. Cambridge firemen exhibited their excellent training and preparations. They had the special services vehicle, and four other pieces of equipment on scene. They used iron tools to pry open the doors. They also had available a metal saw, but it was not needed. The woman was freed before they were able to saw off either door. Cambridge police were placed strategically at adjacent streets keeping non essential traffic away. One ambulance was at the scene near the overturned car. EMS workers stood by until, the woman was freed and placed her on the gurney.

Cambridge, MA Bicyclist Struck By Car, Robbed

[From article]

The woman was riding her bike on Prospect Street around 2:26 a.m. on May 22 in the direction of Inman Square when a dark-colored truck pulled alongside her, according to reports. She told police after the truck first pulled up beside her, it then pulled behind her in the travel line. The truck reportedly did this several times until it pulled up beside her and sideswiped her, knocking her off the bicycle.
The woman sustained minor injuries to her head, hands and feet. After being struck by the vehicle, her purse, which was stored in a basket on her bicycle, was ejected on the ground. While on the ground, the suspect got out of the passenger side of the truck and ran to her, according to police. The suspect reportedly asked the woman if she was okay, then grabbed her purse off the ground, returned to the truck and fled the scene.

http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20160525/NEWS/160527636

Police: Cambridge cyclist hit by car and then robbed
By Natalie Handy
Posted May. 25, 2016 at 1:15 PM

Cambridge Chronicle

Portchester, NY Construction Worker Killed Working In New York City

[From article]

A construction worker died on the job Thursday when a piece of wood struck him as he attempted to dismantle scaffolding from a West Village luxury condo, cops said.
Louis Mata, 32, was on the ground floor of The Printing House on Hudson Street near Leroy Street, working to remove the scaffolding, when the debris plummeted from the 10th floor of the structure, killing him, police said.
When cops arrived on scene at 5:05 p.m., they found Mata, of Port Chester, N.Y., unresponsive with severe neck and back injuries. EMS rushed him to Lenox Hill Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

http://nypost.com/2016/04/22/worker-dies-at-west-village-condo-construction-site/

Worker dies at West Village condo construction site
By Amanda Woods
New York Post
April 22, 2016 | 3:28am

Chicago Assault Victim Ignored By Pedestrians, Hit By Taxi; Similar Earlier Event in Hartford, CT

Marques Gaines was killed Feb. 7, 2016, outside a 7-Eleven store in the 400 block of North State Street.
Photo: Ryan Cosens

[videos embedded]
[From article]
Surveillance video released Wednesday captures the last moments of a popular hotel cocktail server who was punched and knocked unconscious, landing in a Near North crosswalk. The footage also shows more than a dozen bystanders failing to come to his aid in the nearly two minutes before a cab accidentally drives over him.
[. . .]
"There's a clear photograph of the aggressor and a clear video of him attacking Marques Gaines. He hasn't been arrested, and we don't know why," Hurley added.
Gaines' cousin Drexina Nelson said she and her mother, Phyllis, watched the video of Gaines for the first time Wednesday evening and were shaken.
"It was gut-wrenching," Nelson said. "We had heard over the course of these past few three months what happened, but to actually see it with our own eyes was devastating."
Gaines' aunt Phyllis Nelson, who had been too upset during the news conference to speak, said afterward that she couldn't imagine strangers passing by an injured person in her native Georgia.
[. . .]
"I've never heard of anything like this where people just walk by a person lying in the street and nobody help," she said. "I just don't understand it."
Attorneys for the family released grainy footage from a Chicago police pod camera that captures Gaines falling to the ground after a heavier man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants and white sneakers apparently knocked him out with a single right-handed punch. Gaines, who had just bought chips inside the 7-Eleven, could be seen running away from his pursuer before he was struck.
Especially troubling for Gaines' family was that bystanders didn't help as he lay in the crosswalk. At least one person believed to be a 7-Eleven employee called 911. Others walked past him without trying to pull him out of the street or block traffic.
Within seconds of the punch, a half-dozen people gathered around Gaines, including two men who appeared to have rifled his pockets. Gaines' family said his cellphone and debit card were stolen. After a minute, the group and his attacker left the scene and as seconds ticked away, individuals and groups of people walked by Gaines without trying to pull him out of the street.
[. . .]
That no one came to her cousin's aid or tried moving him to safety on the sidewalk was too much for Drexina Nelson. Nelson and her mother, who raised Gaines after his parents died, live in Georgia.
"We as people, as humans, we should care for one another," Drexina Nelson said as she sat with her mother and their attorneys at their Loop law offices Wednesday afternoon. "Who leaves a person in the street for that long? That's devastating to me — the fact that he could have been saved. He could still be here with us."
Last month, attorneys representing the Nelsons filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against several entities, including Chicago Taxi and the driver who struck Gaines. But this week, a judge allowed the attorneys to amend the complaint to add 7-Eleven to the lawsuit as a defendant.
The Nelsons' attorneys also released footage outside the store that captures the confrontation between Gaines and the attacker, who is seen getting into the victim's face and pointing.
"Marques never would have been laying in the street if he hadn't been attacked by somebody who had just been in the 7-Eleven," Hurley said Wednesday. He put blame on a security guard and a store employee who he said stood by and watched but did nothing to get Gaines to safety.

http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-86683516/

Lawyer, family: 7-Eleven, bystanders failed assault victim before he died
William Lee
Chicago Tribune
5:05 pm, April 21, 2016

* * *

Angel Arce Torres, known to all as Ponce, was hit by a car that sped away.

Photo Credit: Hartford Police Department via Associated Press

[From article]

The video of a 78-year-old man being tossed in the air after being hit by a car and then left in the street like a discarded food wrapper would have been hideous whoever the victim.
But this was the victim: Angel Arce Torres, known to all as Ponce, the town in Puerto Rico he left in 1966 to come to the United States. Father of six daughters and one son, with a flock of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Dominoes player extraordinaire. Fisherman and Yankees fan. The guy who bought his own garbage can and chained it up to keep the street clean in front of his beloved El Bohio Café, where he swept the sidewalk, the way others tend their rosebushes, with the broom he kept in the alley. A retired forklift operator who picked up cans to earn a few extra dollars for Carmen Rodriguez, who lives next to the cafe. The least anonymous man on Park Street, who, thanks to one sickening video, became an unlikely symbol of the scary anonymity of the modern street.
[. . .]
“I don’t want to get too political,” Mr. Myers said, “but I’d just say a lot of things go on in society on a daily basis that are definitely inhumane, and no one raises an eyebrow. But this, something that happened so fast, you were stunned by it, this is inhumane? We’re not human? We’re subhuman? What does that mean?”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/nyregion/08towns.html?_r=0

The Day the Traffic Did Not Stop in Hartford
By PETER APPLEBOME
JUNE 8, 2008

Woman In Wheelchair Using Streets Due to Impassable Sidewalks Killed By Hit and Run Driver

[This comment was deleted by Cambridge Chronicle editors. It was posted a second time.]
Usual reason people who use wheelchairs ride in the street is because sidewalks are not passable. Imagine if black people or homosexuals were unable to use sidewalks. How long would that last? Parents with strollers carrying babies and toddlers also avoid the broken sidewalks by walking in the street. Much of this can be resolved by replacing brick sidewalks with concrete. But limousine liberals whose values rule Cambridge, dictate bricks because they are pretty. Dorothy might still be alive if the sidewalks were ADA compliant.

http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20160315/somerville-man-charged-in-death-of-cambridge-woman-in-hit-and-run-of-wheelchair

Somerville man charged in death of Cambridge woman in hit-and-run of wheelchair
An elderly Cambridge woman in a wheelchair who was struck by a car last month has died of her injuries, and a Somerville man has been charged in the death.
Posted Mar. 15, 2016 at 6:25 PM
Updated at 6:30 PM

CEO Of Energy Corporation, Dies In Car Accident, Day After He Was Indicted

[From article]
Aubrey McClendon, the founder and former CEO of oil and gas giant Chesapeake Energy, died Wednesday in a single-car crash in Oklahoma City, a day after he was charged with bid-rigging in the energy markets.
McClendon, 56, was driving at a “high rate of speed” at about 9 a.m. when he drove through a grassy area and crashed head-on into a wall, dying instantly in a 2013 Chevy Tahoe, Oklahoma City police Capt. Paco Balderrama said at a press conference.
The car erupted into a fireball after, charring the crushed hull of the vehicle, according to photos of the scene.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the crash was an accident.
McClendon’s death comes one day after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of conspiring to rig the price of oil and gas leases in Oklahoma.
“While serving as CEO of a major oil and gas company, the defendant formed and led a conspiracy to suppress prices paid to leaseholders in northwest Oklahoma,” US Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer said in a statement Tuesday.

http://nypost.com/2016/03/02/ex-chesapeake-ceo-dies-in-car-crash-day-after-indictment/

Energy mogul dies in fiery car crash day after indictment
By Kevin Dugan
New York Post
March 2, 2016 | 3:19pm

Cambridge, MA Therapist Killed By Car in Porter Square

That pedestrian heavy intersection is extremely difficult for shoppers and T riders. It was recently reconfigured after a previous death. A possible improvement is to build overpasses as the city of Las Vegas has along its famous strip. Escalators up and down and a plaza above the streets. One is needed going from the T station to the shopping plaza and one across Mass Ave. to Upland Road. Besides White Street the exit from behind the restaurants near the tracks on the west side of Mass Ave. brings unexpected traffic to the mix.

[From article]
A 63-year-old Cambridge woman who died recently after she was struck by a car in a busy intersection in Porter Square is being remembered for her generosity, uplifting spirit and ability to connect with almost anyone, according to many who knew her.
Marcie Mitler worked as a psychotherapist in a private practice in Cambridge for 22 years, and leaves behind two sons, Noah and Sam Perkins.
“She had a big heart. She was always more interested in other people than herself,” said Mitler’s son, Noah Perkins.
Mitler died from injuries sustained after being struck by a car at the intersection of Somerville Avenue and White Street early Thursday morning, Feb. 18, according to police. The incident is still under investigation, according to Meghan Kelly, director of communications for the Middlesex District Attorney's Office. No charges against the driver had been filed as of Tuesday night. However, the driver, who remained on scene, was issued a citation at the time of the crash, according to Jeremy Warnick, director of communications for the Cambridge Police Department, and other charges are expected.

http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20160224/friends-family-pay-tribute-to-cambridge-woman-killed-by-car/?Start=1

Friends, family pay tribute to Cambridge woman killed by car
By Natalie Handy
nhandy (at) wickedlocal.com
Posted Feb. 24, 2016 at 7:00 AM
Updated at 10:19 AM
CAMBRIDGE Chronicle

Toddler, 18 months, Survives After Car Crash Decapitation, Spine Repaired

Support: Jaxon is wearing a 'halo' to keep his body stable
[From article]
This child has made a miracle recovery after his HEAD was internally decapitated in a car crash .
Young Jaxon Taylor, aged one, could have died after the smash.
The 16-month-old toddler was with his mum and nine-year-old sister Shayne when they collided head on with another vehicle at 70mph on September 15.
[. . .]
In a six-hour surgery Dr Askin and his team attached a halo device to Jackson’s skull, holding him completely still while reattaching his vertebrae using a tiny piece of wire.
Then medical staff took a piece of Jaxon’s rib to graft the two vertebrae together.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/medical-miracle-doctors-reattach-toddlers-6568883

Medical miracle as doctors reattach toddler's decapitated HEAD after horrific car crash
23:09, 3 OCT 2015
UPDATED 19:43, 4 OCT 2015
BY PAUL HARPER
Hero doctors reattached the boy's vertebrae using wire and a piece of his rib

Illegal Alien Charged With Hit-and-Run Twice In One Week, Had Priors

[From article]
"I see here that you have two prior convictions for impaired driving and that you have been removed from the United States by a previous immigration proceeding," Wake County District Court Judge Ned Mangum told Arellano during the suspect's first court appearance on the charges Friday afternoon.
During that appearance, Mangum nearly tripled the bond on the 31 year old.
Witnesses at the crash scene identified Arellano.
That includes the woman who told a 911 dispatcher: "The gentleman walked away. He got out of the F-150 [pickup truck] and walked toward Jonesville Road."

http://abc11.com/news/another-illegal-immigrant-accused-of-hit-and-run/841448/

FOR SECOND TIME IN A WEEK, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF HIT-AND-RUN
By Ed Crump
Friday, July 10, 2015 06:45PM

Good Samaritan Shot in Lynn, MA

[From article]

It all started Wednesday afternoon when an elderly man in a pickup truck struck a motorcycle on Whiting Street in Lynn.
“The driver of the pickup truck got out to check on the well-being of the motorcyclist, and the motorcyclist attacked him,” Lynn Police Lt. Rick Donnelly said.
That’s when Lebaron Felings, sitting on a nearby stoop, saw the older man being punched and decided to intervene.
The motorcyclist fled, vowing to get Feling’s back. Five or six minutes later he came back and shot him, hitting Felings once in the stomach.
Felings was hospitalized but is expected to be OK.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/07/02/good-samaritan-shot-while-helping-assault-victim-in-lynn/

Good Samaritan Shot While Helping Assault Victim In Lynn
July 2, 2015 10:23 PM

CBS News Boston MA

Susie Steimle

Ten Injured In Midtown Manhattan Construction Crane Collapse

Refrigeration Unit Dropped By Crane on  Madison Avenue Near 38th Street

[From article]
At least 10 people were injured when a construction crane dropped a massive heating and air-conditioning unit nearly 30 stories at a Midtown building Sunday, officials and witnesses said.
Workers were attempting to lift the unit into one of the Madison Avenue office building’s control rooms when the rigging strap holding it broke, sending it plummeting to the street around 10:45 a.m., said a source familiar with the investigation.
The metal rectangular unit struck the side of the building multiple times as it fell, sending glass and building debris raining down. The unit landed in the middle of Madison Avenue between 38th and 39th streets.



http://nypost.com/2015/05/31/construction-crane-crashes-into-midtown-building/

At least 10 hurt after crane smashes into Midtown building
By Tom Wilson, Dana Sauchelli and Daniel Prendergast
New York Post
May 31, 2015 | 11:16am

Updated: Eighth Victim Identified in Amtrak Crash

Posted May 13, 2015 10:58 PM ET; Last updated May 14, 2015 8:14 PM ET


Rachel Jacobs, pictured right with her husband and their two year old. She had texted her husband on Tuesday evening to say she was on the train and has not contacted family since.


Scramble: Rescuers come to the aid of injured people inside the derailed Amtrak train in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, in a photo provided by former Pennsylvania Congressman Patrick Murphy, who was a passenger on the crashed train.


Justin Zemser, named as among the victims of Tuesday night's Amtrak rail crash.


Jim Gaines, right, have been named as among the victims of Tuesday night's Amtrak rail crash.


Abid Gilani was the third confirmed victim in the crash.

Derrick Griffith (above), a dean at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn was killed in the crash.

Laura Finamore, 47, From Douglaston, Queens, NY

[From article]
Laura Finamore, 47, grew up in Douglaston, ​Queens, ​and served as the managing director for real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.
A statement from her relatives said they are “profoundly saddened by her untimely passing, ​”​and described her as a generous, funny person.
“Laura’s smile could light up a room and her infectious laughter will be remembered by many for years to come,” said the statement. “She was always there when you needed her ​– with a hug, encouraging words or a pat on the back.”
Finamore ​graduated Benjamin Cardozo High School and studied literature at George Washington University.
http://nypost.com/2015/05/14/new-york-real-estate-exec-killed-in-amtrak-crash/

New York real estate exec killed in Amtrak crash
By Rebecca Harshbarger
New York Post
May 14, 2015 | 3:46pm

* * *
















* * *

[From article]

A 20-year-old U.S. Naval Academy student who was heading home on leave and a 48-year-old father-of-two have been named as two of the passengers killed in last night's deadly Amtrak derailment - as investigators revealed that the train was traveling at 100 mph before the crash.
Justin Zemser, an only child, was traveling home to Rockaway Beach, New York to see his mother when the train came off the tracks at Frankford Junction near Philadelphia just before 9.30pm, killing at least seven people, leaving eight in critical condition and injuring more than 200.
Jim Gaines, who designed video software for the Associated Press, was also named among the victims. He had been attending meetings in Washington and was heading home to Plainsboro, New Jersey at the time of the crash, his wife, Jacqueline, said. They have two children, aged 11 and 16.
Abid Gilani, 55, a senior vice president in the hospitality finance group at Wells Fargo based in New York City was also one of the victims in the crash.
Rachel Jacobs, a 39-year-old tech CEO and married mother from New York City with a 2-year-old was confirmed as dead by a family member Wednesday evening.
She had texted her husband to say she was on Train 188 just minutes ahead of the crash.
Friends have also expressed their fears for Bob Gildersleeve, a 45-year-old businessman who was traveling from Baltimore to New York for work who is missing.
On Wednesday afternoon, a Philadelphia police spokesman confirmed a seventh victim had been pulled from the wreckage. Four of the victims were found in the train, two were found outside and one - Mr Gaines - died at an area hospital, the Philadelphia Police Department said.
The train was traveling at 106 mph when the engineer applied the emergency brakes as it entered a steep curve, where the speed limit is 50 mph, Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.
The last recorded speed before the data cut out was 102 mph, he added.
NBC News identified the engineer driving the train as Brandon Bostian, 32, of New York City, who has hired a lawyer and refused to speak with detectives.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3079313/Amtrak-train-derails-killing-7-people-investigation-begins.html

CEO and new mother, 39, commuting home from work is identified as the fourth passenger to die in the 106mph Amtrak derailment
Investigators have confirmed that the train was traveling at 106 mph ahead of Tuesday night's derailment, while reports suggest it had not been fitted with an advanced braking system that would have made it slow down
Seven cars from Train 188 derailed near Philadelphia just after 9pm on Tuesday as it traveled from Washington D.C. with more than 240 people on board
Seven people died, eight are in critical condition and more than 200 received medical treatment
Searches are still underway for victims at the crash site almost 24 hours after the crash as not all passengers have been accounted for and officials say the death toll could possibly rise
Justin Zemser, 20, has been named as one of the victims by his mother; he was attending the U.S. Naval academy in Annapolis, Maryland and heading home to New York on leave when he was killed
Jim Gaines, 48, who designed video software for the Associated Press, was also killed as he headed home to New Jersey from meetings in Washington; he leaves behind a wife and two children
Abid Gilani, 55, a senior vice president in the hospitality finance group at Wells Fargo was also one of the victims in the crash
Rachel Jacobs, a 39-year-old married mother from New York City with a 2-year-old baby was confirmed as dead by a family member Wednesday evening
Businessman Bob Gildersleeve, 45, who has not contacted his loved ones since the crash is still missing
The train's engineer, 32-year-old Brandon Bostian, was injured and has declined to give a statement to investigators
By LYDIA WARREN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 05:43 EST, 13 May 2015 | UPDATED: 19:25 EST, 13 May 2015
UPDATED: 01:14 EST, 14 May 2015

Retired Harvard Librarian, Musician, Activist Killed In Cambridge Bicycle Accident

Posted March 11, 2015 8:54 PM ET; Last updated March 14, 2015 9:10 PM ET


The victim of a Wednesday bicycle accident has been identified as Marcia Deihl, 65, a local singer/songwriter and political activist. 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/03/12/cambridge-songwriter-activist-mourned-after-fatal-bike-accident/715KQNmoGNaEY8ld9BO3XP/story.html#comments

Friends mourn for Cambridge songwriter, activist
By Evan Allen and Peter Schworm

GLOBE STAFF MARCH 12, 2015

* * *

[From article]
At age 102, Marcia Deihl’s mom had fallen in love with a 91-year-old man at their nursing home.
She had spent a week with her mom in January, celebrating her birthday, and watching romance.
“It’s a different sort of love that I see,” she wrote. “So pure, so down-to-the-essence, so dear. It’s what they are, not what they do. It’s eros, not agape.”

http://blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/2015/03/author-who-documented-old-love-dies-young/

Author who documented old love, dies young
 

Bob Collins

March 12, 2015, 9:59 AM

Marcia Deihl, 65, of Cambridge was killed after she was hit by a dump truck on Wednesday.
Photo: BETSY SOWERS 



[From article]
Deihl was recently retired as a 30-year employee of Harvard’s Tozzer Library after a long and active history as in cultural and political life – co-founding the Boston Bisexual Women’s Network, sharing a stage with Pete Seeger and notorious as “a convener of Bizarre Song Parties,” as a friend recalled on Deihl’s Facebook page. She had a bachelor’s degree in music history and education from Boston University, a master’s degree in feminism and folk music from the Cambridge-Goddard School for Social Change and a certificate in publishing and communications from Harvard University, according to her website.

http://www.cambridgeday.com/2015/03/11/bicyclist-dies-after-collision-with-truck/comment-page-1/

Singer, activist Marcia Deihl, 65, identified as Cambridgeport bicycle accident fatality
By Marc Levy
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Last revised on: Thursday, March 12, 2015.

* * *

[Tribute from an admirer]
http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2015/02/13/centenarian-love-kiss-marcia-deihl

* * *
[Marcia Diehl's blog]
http://marcia-mellow-d.blogspot.com/p/bio.html
* * *

Updated:
Marcia Deihl, 65, was pronounced dead at the scene.
[From article]
A female cyclist was struck and killed by a container truck around 1:40 p.m. Wednesday at the corner of Allston and Pleasant streets.
The victim, whose name will not be released until next of kin is notified, was pronounced dead at the scene. No charges have been made at this time against the male driver of the truck, who remained at the scene.

http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20150311/NEWS/150318979

By Staff Reports
Cambridge Chronicle
Posted Mar. 11, 2015 at 3:11 PM
Updated at 3:37 PM

Feds Urge Scrutiny of Railroad Grade Crossings After Third Incident in New York

Sounds like a good job for the FBI, instead of protecting criminals and harassing law abiding citizens, they might save some lives.

[From article]
On Tuesday, an LIRR Montauk-branch train was heading east from Patchogue when the front end of the driver’s Ford Focus went beyond the lowered warning gate at Rider Avenue just after noon, the MTA said.
The oncoming train demolished the hatchback and dragged it.
“The car went airborne like it was a toy,” said Wayne Berry, who was headed to lunch when the crash took place.
“The driver just went through the gate like there was no train coming at all. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. [The car] got spun around and dragged like a rag doll.”
None of the 13 passengers aboard the train’s four passenger cars was injured.
The driver, identified as 67-year-old Garry Calderon, of Shirley, LI, was rushed to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

http://nypost.com/2015/03/04/feds-call-for-crossing-crackdown-after-third-ny-train-collision/

Feds call for crossing crackdown after third NY train collision
By Victor Alcorn and Daniel Prendergast
New York Post
March 4, 2015 | 1:36am

Icy Streets Cause Hundreds of Accidents in New York-New Jersey Metro Area

A 20-car accident caused by black ice on the Cross Island Expressway near Exit 30.
Photo: G.N. Miller
[From article]
“We haven’t seen it this bad since Hurricane Sandy,” said one source.
Rain coming down between 7 and 8 a.m. created the black ice when it met the freezing pavement, according to Accuweather.
The 911 call volume was three times more than normal between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m., a source said.
By 3 p.m., there had been about 3,600 city calls citywide– when normally the call volume would have been 1,800.
The Bronx and Brooklyn had the most 911 calls, and ambulances had to come from New Jersey, Nassau and Suffolk County to help out.
[. . .]
“You would think the town would be more prepared,” he said. “I saw on the news last night that it was going to be icy.”

http://nypost.com/2015/01/18/black-ice-leads-to-accidents-pileup/

Black ice-related accidents cause 911 backlog in NYC
By Priscilla DeGregory, Dana Sauchelli and Rebecca Harshbarger
January 18, 2015 | 9:48am

Cargo Ship Hits Brooklyn Bridge

[From article]
A cargo ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge on Friday night when its light tower clipped the iconic span, cops said.
The ship — which is named “Rainbow Quest” — was sailing south on the East River when its light tower collided with the underside of the bridge at about 11 p.m., forcing authorities to halt traffic for about two hours, according to cops.

http://nypost.com/2014/11/07/cargo-ship-hits-brooklyn-bridge-cops/

Cargo ship strikes Brooklyn Bridge
By Matt McNulty, Josh Saul and Gabrielle Fonrouge
November 7, 2014 | 11:47pm
New York Post

Chemical Spill At MIT

[From article]
No injuries have been reported in a chemical spill at MIT earlier today, according to Kimberly Allen, director of media relations for the university.
The university posted an alert around 1:45 p.m. asking people to stay clear of Building 18. According to a tweet from MIT Police, the spill was contained just before 2 p.m. People should still avoid the area near Building 18, Allen said

http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20141007/NEWS/141007177

Police: Chemical spill contained on MIT campus
Posted Oct. 7, 2014 @ 2:07 pm
Updated at 2:41 PM

Toddler's Severe Injuries at School Blamed on Accident

Battered and bruised: These images taken last week by mother, Lacey Harris, reveals the seriousness of AvaLynn's injuries

[From article]
According to Harris, her daughter AvaLynn was kicked until she fell off the slide in the playground during her first week at Arlington Elementary in Mississippi.
The Pascagoula School District said that nothing violent happened to the little girl and she merely fell to the ground whie outside playing.
A post on the 'Justice for AvaLynn' Facebook page gives Harris' alleged account of how her daughter was left with such severe black eyes and swollen features.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2739094/Mother-claims-daughter-repeatedly-kicked-face-children-school-teachers-deny-children-involved-injuries.html

Girl, 5, sent home from kindergarten with horror facial injuries blaming classmates 'who kicked her' as devastated mom blasts school's claim it was an accident
AvaLynn suffered severe bruising and swelling after an alleged beating at kindergarten
The five-year-old's mother, Lacey Harris, has begun a social media campaign
Police have said they will not begin an investigation because they do not believe a crime took place
By JAMES NYE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 10:45 EST, 31 August 2014 | UPDATED: 17:35 EST, 31 August 2014

Harvard Student Dies In NJ Car Crash

[From article]
Angela R. Mathew ’15 died in the accident, which occurred at 12:35 a.m. Monday, according to New Jersey State Police. She was 20 years old.
[. . .]
Mathew, a Leverett House resident, was a neurobiology concentrator from Albuquerque,N.M., and was a high school seminar director for the Harvard Mock Trial Association, according to the team’s website.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/2/10/student-death-traffic-new-jersey/

Undergraduate Killed in N.J. Traffic Accident Monday Morning
By MADELINE R. CONWAY

Harvard CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
February 9, 2014
UPDATED: Feb. 10, 2013, at 11:01 p.m.