No charges

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Permalink Reply by Will on February 19, 2013 at 11:09am

By the way, I never thought the grand jury was "fixed" or there was any impropriety on the part of the trucking company owner or the prosecutor. I'm pretty optimistic about the judicial system, at least at this level.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on February 19, 2013 at 1:02pm

Never assume conspiracy when the stupidity of humanity is a much more realistic explanation.

Will 7.87 miles said:

By the way, I never thought the grand jury was "fixed" or there was any impropriety on the part of the trucking company owner or the prosecutor. I'm pretty optimistic about the judicial system, at least at this level.

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Permalink Reply by Davo on February 19, 2013 at 1:13pm

I agree that there was no criminal intent by the driver and that he would not have felt or heard the cyclist being hit. I believe that the driver was very negligent in his driving. It is clear in the video (that doesn't seem to be up anymore) that the cyclist was ahead of the truck as they crossed the bridge. The driver did not yield or pass with enough clearance. It is a shame that none of the charges held up and that this guy probably wont even get his license revoked. Although that doesn't seem to phase him anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on February 19, 2013 at 1:57pm

I didn't like the false (inaccurate) statements either, but the truth or falsity of that statement wasn't an element of the crime(s) they were charging him with. Had he admitted he had knowledge that he had struck a person or vehicle and left the scene, that could have been a separate count. He was charged with: Motor Vehicle Homicide by Negligent Operation; (Inadequate) Precautions for the Safety of Other Travelers; and Unsafe Overtaking of Bicyclist. The Wellesley Police interviewed the driver the day after the accident between 11:45 pm and 12:40 am on a Saturday night at his home. He was read his Miranda rights, agreed to be interviewed, and had not yet lawyered up.

People "misremember" things all the time. Differences in perception, perspective, memory and secondary elaboration all combine to make three different witnesses of a single event give three different accounts of what happened. Whether he believed that he hit the bicyclist or not-he hit the bicyclist. 

Will 7.87 miles said:

No doubt, it was horrible. And I have no doubt the truck driver neither felt nor heard any of the impact. What gets me is, he admits to seeing the cyclist before the impact, but he goes on to claim he passed the cyclist safely and see him in his rear view mirror, which is obviously false.

I don't know what the standard was for criminal intent, but it just seems wrong that you can mow someone down, then make false statements after the fact, and it's all OK.

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Permalink Reply by Will on February 19, 2013 at 3:34pm

I read the statute on the first charge, and I can't fathom how the grand jury let him go on that.

Kevin C 4.1 mi said:

He was charged with: Motor Vehicle Homicide by Negligent Operation; (Inadequate) Precautions for the Safety of Other Travelers; and Unsafe Overtaking of Bicyclist.

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Permalink Reply by Juan Primo on February 19, 2013 at 4:55pm

I wasn't there an not behind the wheel, but I've driven big trucks, and I'm sure if he ran over the cyclist or his bike, he would have felt it.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on February 19, 2013 at 8:44pm

Do you have a CDL and have you ever driven a combination like that?

That truck was probably around 70k gross, or more maybe, and is loud as can be in the cab.  When you combine that with poor line of sight (there are blind spots around the cab of a semi that can hide a small car) it is completely within the realm of possibility that they had no idea they hit a person; you can hit a car and not really feel it much at low speeds.

Juan Primo said:

I wasn't there an not behind the wheel, but I've driven big trucks, and I'm sure if he ran over the cyclist or his bike, he would have felt it.

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Permalink Reply by Juan Primo on February 19, 2013 at 8:52pm

I used to drive gravel trucks during my construction days.  I'm just saying that if he ran over the cyclist (that's what I got from the police report) - he certainly would have felt it.  If you roll over a small curb with a truck you'll know you did it. 

And didn't it look like he should have seen the cyclist from that video?  So he sees a cyclist, overtakes the cyclist, and never sees the cyclist again... that's not chargable?

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