You know how the conversation went yesterday. The Waltham police social media manager reports that twitter activists are complaining about a police statement made at the scene of a pedestrian killing. “Listen you need to be careful about what you say because people online are sensitive. I understand what you’re saying but these people get upset sometimes over nothing”
(or something to that effect)
You often see these stories end with:
- The investigation is ongoing
- Charges have not been filed
- The accident is still under investigation
- No further updates
- No further updates…...
..until the accidents fade from our memory, or another one happens and we mentally move onto the newest incident, leaving the last to quietly disappear. I noticed this after Alexander Montsenigos was killed by a dump truck in Wellesley. Details weren't reported, investigation ongoing until no criminal charges were filed for a person with a 7 page long driving violation record who left the scene of the crash.
The internal message at police departments must not be the same as the outward-facing one and because of that nothing ever really changes. The connection between police reports on accidents and feedback to the DPW and traffic engineers must not be strong because nothing ever really changes. Perhaps we look to police when someone is killed and not at the infrastructure that helped to cause the crash. Who will hold developers responsible? Police? It’s a confusing circle and everyone is blameless except the guy who might not have looked, or the woman with no helmet, or the guy that wasn’t crossing in the crosswalk. I could absolutely flood this essay with links but a few come to mind. They are all recent.
A few weeks ago a woman was hit on her bike in Sudbury by a tractor trailer.
The police statement on the crash was mostly apologizing for traffic problems but the comments on the statement were the most confusing part. “Thanks for keeping us safe!” wrote one enthusiastic Facebook supporter. This is my point. How is this keeping anyone safe? The entire system has failed when the reported result of a woman being hit by a truck is traffic, and not the woman who was hit. This woman just got hit by a truck. The crash has already happened and the police responded. The role of the police was completely reactive. No one was kept safe. It’s likely that there is an investigation that will ultimately yield nothing. On that same road, only a year before, a cyclist was killed during an event that was permitted by the town.
Since the first incident the road was completely repaved and relined in Old Sudbury center without a single allowance for a bike commuter.
Let’s look at some hard truths. Who has to die to get massive sweeping change to happen?
A kid on a bike? (Nope)
A transportation czar? (I bet a lot of people read the article because irony is appealing)
A police officer?
Good question. Probably yes. They don’t ride bikes much around here. Usually I see a couple of police mountain bikes on the bike rack of the police SUV but they only get ridden for parades. If a policeman is hit on a detail (looking for proximity to traffic) the driver is usually charged. I was passed on the highway by a drunk driver a few weeks ago who nearly hit a police car on detail and it made me feel terrible for the officer on duty. The cop didn’t notice at all and there was no way for me to indicate to that cop “go get that person!” It makes me appreciate the risks they take on the job. The risks that police take every day are actually part of their job. That doesn't’ make them less brave or deserving of less protection however it should make them aware of people who are not paid to stand in a crosswalk and therefore not make excuses for drivers that hit them. It should make them hyper-aware allies. It’s a strange thing that police are a revered group of risk takers when they are paid to take risks that the public is told to just accept.
Yesterday
Let’s focus on yesterday’s accident. Here are the facts- a guy named Greg who worked in the kitchen at a local office park got off the MBTA bus as he likely did for the last 30 years and was hit by a speeding car as he crossed Wyman street in the crosswalk. He was knocked out of his shoes. He died. Greg is dead. Another person went to the hospital who was also hit. A police statement blaming the victims in this scenario assumes that both of these unrelated men threw themselves in front of a car that was traveling at high speed, both making the same mistake, both not looking..whatever. Two people were hit. A police statement blaming the victims ignores every story of every detail cop being hit while at work.
That was Waltham Sgt. Gallant reminding pea brained office workers that cars can kill people, in an article about a car killing someone. He seems to default to victim blaming. I found another article, (MANY actually) below, about a cyclist that was nearly killed in Waltham not long ago when instead of talking about the driver that pulled out in front of the cyclist from a side road he decided to remind all those pesky cyclists that you really need to wear a helmet.
Anyway, here’s what I think happened yesterday. I was not there when the crash happened. I think these two guys had just got off the bus and walked in front of it to cross the street. The SUV's driver, who is unnamed for whatever reason by the press, decided from the looks of it, to pass the bus on the double yellow and at high speed, hitting them both. There was no chance, if this were the scenario that the pedestrians would have seen the SUV coming. Look at the angle of the Lexus below. He’s returning from the oncoming lane.
Above is a photo of the street from the direction of travel. Note the bike “lane” I use every day. Note also, for kicks, where car tires occupy the street in relation to that "lane." At the crosswalk there is also an MBTA bus stop. This crosswalk is perfectly visible on a straight road with perfect line of sight. The police statement mentions that the investigation is ongoing and that they wanted to see what the light conditions were at 6:51am as if cars weren’t equipped with headlights for the last 110 years. It sounded a lot like the police department was looking for a reason to pat this guy on the back and send him on his way. They even carried his dry cleaning from his smashed car!
At the time of the accident, it was still dark Gallant says. Nothing we can do.. It was dark. The investigation is ongoing.
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