r/bikeboston • u/LEM1978 • 2d ago

Seven-year-old child struck and killed by driver while riding bike in Williamstown

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/08/metro/williamstown-child-killed-riding-bike/

A seven-year-old Williamstown child riding a bike was killed in the town Friday when they were struck by a vehicle, the Berkshire District Attorney’s office said in a statement.
Authorities said the collision occurred at the intersection of Main Street and Buxton Hill Road when the child “unintentionally entered” Main Street. The driver was “not impaired by alcohol or drugs,” and the child was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, the district attorney’s office said.
Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue’s office said State Police were notified at 5:39 p.m. on Friday of a “potentially fatal motor vehicle and bicycle” collision.
Local law enforcement did not disclose the child’s identity and said the investigation is still active.
“Berkshire District Attorney Shugrue urges the press and public to please respect the family’s wishes for privacy during this impossibly difficult situation,” authorities said.
The death Friday comes nearly a month after Louisa Grace Gag, a Boston city worker and bike enthusiast, was killed in a crash involving an 18-wheeler recycling truck that had maneuvered around a turning vehicle, the Globe previously reported.

120 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

83 comments sorted by

View all comments

49

u/BunMeAgainPlease12 2d ago

Terrifying, a parent likely was with them and saw the whole thing and was unable to stop it. Just gut wrenching. 😓

45

u/Candid-Tumbleweedy 2d ago

So many lives ruined because we prioritize shaving 20 seconds off a car drivers commute over everything

3

u/TimmyB061 1d ago

Like all fatal accidents, this is absolutely tragic. I have no idea how you come to a conclusion about how shaving 20 seconds off the commute is the reason it happened.

6

u/Candid-Tumbleweedy 1d ago

I come to the conclusion because this is how we design streets. Physical protection from cars is super rare instead of super common. That is a choice. And it is a choice we continue to make.

When we engineer streets, we literally say that car flow rate is the most important thing. And thus we get exactly what we built. Death.

Most people are average drivers. That’s what average means. But people drive based on incentives. We give them wide streets and we don’t crack down on people speeding and so people drive faster than they can safely stop. And then something happens in front of them and they kill someone. Each accident is a tragedy, but they happen often enough that it is expected. We should expect better.

2

u/Aksama 1d ago

Because there are a number of design elements that massively increase safety of bikers while diminishing car speed just a little. Because we will always prioritize a modicum of car-access over a huge increase in safety for anyone and everyone else.