Bicyclist Dies After Being Struck By Truck In Cambridge
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) -- 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.
Bicyclist struck on Cambridge St at Inman Square in Cambridge. Cambridge St closed from Square to Fayette St. pic.twitter.com/tPJChD7E59
— Lana Jones (@Lanawbz) June 23, 2016
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.
Police reconstructing where open door may have hit bicycle. #Cambridge #wbz pic.twitter.com/hsa5syNqFO
— Christina Hager (@HagerWBZ) June 23, 2016
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.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports