Authorities clear truck driver in fatal October bike collision
A tractor-trailer driver has been cleared in a collision that left a bicyclist dead last October in Cambridge’s Porter Square after investigators determined the rider veered into the truck’s blind spot without signaling, authorities said.
Bernard Lavins, 60, of Lexington, a pharmaceutical company executive, was killed Oct. 5 when his bike veered into the middle lane of traffic on Massachusetts Avenue near Porter Square, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan’s office.
“The visibility study and witness statements concluded that the cause of the crash was the blind spot in front of the tractor-trailer and that it was very likely that the driver of the truck could not perceive the cyclist as the cyclist entered the lane of the travel without signaling and based on the cyclist’s speed and location,” Ryan’s office said in a statement.
Authorities said their reconstruction of the collision included an analysis of crash debris as well as the final resting place of the truck and bicycle.
“The cyclist exited the bike lane, which continues along Massachusetts Avenue to the intersection for Somerville Avenue, with the intention to turn left approximately 36 feet prior to the crosswalk,” prosecutors said in a statement yesterday. “The operator of the truck was not speeding, impaired or distracted by cell phone or other objects at the time of the crash.”
Lavins was also struck by a car that followed the truck, authorities said. No civil or criminal charges will be filed against either driver, Ryan’s office said. The investigation was carried out by the Cambridge Police Department, State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, and Ryan’s office.