Advocacy & Safety - BOSTON: Looking for accident witnesses 3/14/04

I have let an awful lot of time pass before seeking out witnesses, but I am hoping that someone can help me out. If you witnessed this accident, you probably remember it, at least in part. If someone you know witnessed it, you’ve probably heard about it (please have them contact me.)


On March 14th, 2004 I was struck by the E line trolley while riding my bike across a cross walk in front of Mass Art. I wasn’t wearing a helmet and I don’t remember what happened at all because I went into a coma afterward.

The only police report that is written about the accident was written by an MBTA detective. I am not looking for witnesses so that I can sue them, I just want to find out what really happened.

Please email me if you have any information.
Thank you

email at: veroniquedentremont [at] yahoo.com

Yikes!

Hope you're recovering fully!

Ohh, and good luck finding the SOB that left you for dead.
May he/she rot in hell.

Well actually she was struck by an MBTA trolley and the T police responded immediately. There's some inconsistency in the report. It has her traveling down Huntington Ave crossing Longwood when she ran into or was struck by the corner of the trolley. This is unlikely since the trolley travels in a fenced off right of way with openings only at intersections.

It's more likely that she was either traveling down Huntington and making a left across Longwood which exposes you trolleys from either direction. For big hulking machines, they can sneak up on you. I've almost left hooked one myself. Either that, or she was traveling down Longwood crossing Huntington which, like the other alternative, takes her directly across the trolley tracks.

The trolleys have a separate light phase so that if everyone pays attention to their signals, this shouldn't happen. Nevertheless, every year people have car crashes with trolleys because they're either trying to beat it across the tracks or because they didn't notice it was there and turned into it. I've heard a rumor that trolleys will occassionally run their signal, though I find it a little hard to believe just because it doesn't really save the driver that much (and they know this) and the consequences for a mistake are so severe.

Still, it could be that she had the right of way but being at night the driver didn't see her and proceeded through their signal.

Conveniently, Brigham and Women's Hospital where they took her after the accident is only about a block away.

Ohhh ya know what...

When she wrote "struck by the E line trolley", for some reason I registered "struck near the E line trolley".


<Miss Emily Litella> Nevermind... </Miss Emily Litella>

And as a Boston rider I can say that signal running by the trolleys, if not "frequent", happens more often than it should.

My biggest fear about riuing in boston is getting hit by a green line train. I frequently cross the green line tracks on comm ave in front of BU, and I get scared everytime.

Home lightly!
I hope you are recovering well.