Fatal Bicycle Crash Under Investigation in Arlington

Freddy B

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I added the bold. Would like to know under what circumstances they searched the trunk.

ARLINGTON – Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Arlington Chief of Police Julie Flaherty have confirmed the investigation into a fatal bicycle crash that occurred yesterday in Arlington.

On May 5, 2020, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Arlington Police responded to the intersection of Appleton Street and Massachusetts Avenue for a report of a crash involving two bicyclists and a motor vehicle. Upon arrival, police located two bicyclists, a 32-year-old female and a 27-year-old male identified as Charles Proctor of Somerville. Arlington Rescue transported Mr. Proctor to Lahey Hospital where he subsequently died from injuries sustained in the crash. The female victim was also transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The preliminary information suggests that the motor vehicle, a Hyundai Sonata, was traveling west on Massachusetts Avenue and that the bicyclists were traveling east on Massachusetts Avenue at the time of the crash. The driver of the vehicle, a 20-year-old Cambridge man, remained on scene. Two other passengers were in the vehicle at the time of the crash; they also remained on scene. The Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section will conduct the reconstruction of the crash.

Investigators subsequently located a loaded shotgun in the trunk of the vehicle. As a result, the driver was charged with possession of a loaded shotgun or rifle in the motor vehicle. The driver was licensed to possess the firearm; he will be summonsed to Cambridge District Court at a later date on that charge.

This is an open and ongoing investigation being conducted by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Arlington Police and Massachusetts State Police CARS.

 
Trunk counts as being locked by most people. Having it loaded is obviously no good in commiechusitts.
 
the trick is when they impound the vehicle, they do an "inventory" just to keep the tow yard honest, and the car owner too.....

If anything is found in the course of that "inventory" it is fair game in their eyes.
 
Sounds like the family blames the intersection, not the driver.

Charlie was killed at the corner of Appleton Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, just ten minutes away from his home in Somerville. It is a busy, four way forked intersection. The only traffic control is four flashing yellow lights which did nothing to protect him as a driver turned left though the fork and hit him head on. We visited the scene of the crash this afternoon, where a resident told us that crashes at this intersection are a chronic problem.

RIP Charlie, good luck licensed gun owner.
 
I have been noticing that peds and such have been in a sort of a haze, I think some of them are getting too accustomed to minimal traffic being around.

Either that or more of them are walking and biking drunk, now, after WFH for 2 months.

-Mike
 
MA and NH hunting laws make it a crime to possess a loaded long gun IN or ON a MV, period. You don't need to be hunting to violate MGL C. 131 (sorry I don't remember the section).
 
MA and NH hunting laws make it a crime to possess a loaded long gun IN or ON a MV, period. You don't need to be hunting to violate MGL C. 131 (sorry I don't remember the section).

I could have sworn there was an LE exemption for that, but I can't find it offhand.

Even if it doesn't exist, there is no court in the land that's going to push that anyways, at least not WRT an on duty badged guy, using the "Cuz its guns, but its also the kopsch, so it's okay for them to ignore the laws under the umbrella of duty blah blah".
 
That isn't the easiest intersection to navigate. Appleton comes in at an angle and is downhill towards Mass Ave. Visibility isn't great and traffic lights can be confusing to a degree.
 
Is the definition of loaded clearly established in MA? I.e. do we know that it means there was a round chambered? Or is a pump shotgun in "cruiser ready" condition in a locked trunk still considered loaded/in violation?
 
I wonder if he knew it was loaded. If not, PSGWSP on top of dealing with the fact he killed someone.

If he did know it was loaded, but did not discretely unload it while looking for his first aid kit, PSGWSP.
 
I have been noticing that peds and such have been in a sort of a haze, I think some of them are getting too accustomed to minimal traffic being around.
Same for cars too. People blowing through red lights, abusing the center line, then doubling the speed limit because no one is in front of them. Everyone is just in their own bubble regardless of method of transportation.
 
By the time the vehicle got inventoried, the gun was being stored, not transported.

That's how this works, right?
 
I'm not seeing it

You're probably right, there may not be a specific law that allows it, but there's a standard reductive "we are the kopsch" law that allows them
to get away with it because LE. It's the type of thing that likely allows them to keep a loaded rifle in the cruiser
while on duty "because they're on duty" but I bet it has to come out or get locked up at some point when there's no "law enforcment reason" for
the rifle to be left in the vehicle in that state.

This stuff might even be codified in MGL somewhere but we're likely not looking in the right places.

ETA: I'm not saying any of this is "good" but it is reality. It's no different than cops being able to speed and ignore certain traffic laws (like illegal u
turns) if they can make some kind of a justification for it. Even that stuff has limitations though. For example a cop that turns lights on just to get
through a red light that he don't want to wait for, so he can go eat lunch or whatever, is likely not something legally protected (even if the reality is he'll
never get taken to task for it unless there's an accident in the process).

Like for example, I bet this guy didn't have a legit LE reason for f***ing with his phone when he hit this guy.. so that kind of excuse wouldn't
work here. (of course who knows if he was actually taken to task for it).


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyjbJygns5I


-Mike
 
Arlington is such a dangerous place for bikers period. My apartment I used to live in was adjacent to a bike path that runs from Alewife station through Arlington all the way to Concord. One time I heard there was a head on collision on that bike path between two cyclists and the older one of the two was killed on impact. Pretty insane story, but apart from that it’s nearly city terrain with all the traffic so I’m not surprised something like this happened. In regards to the shotgun, that sucks balls but you have to know the draconian laws in this state: Can’t ride with a long gun loaded or even unlocked and if you have a handgun loaded it needs to be on your person or locked up.
 
Arlington is such a dangerous place for bikers period. My apartment I used to live in was adjacent to a bike path that runs from Alewife station through Arlington all the way to Concord. One time I heard there was a head on collision on that bike path between two cyclists and the older one of the two was killed on impact. Pretty insane story, but apart from that it’s nearly city terrain with all the traffic so I’m not surprised something like this happened. In regards to the shotgun, that sucks balls but you have to know the draconian laws in this state: Can’t ride with a long gun loaded or even unlocked and if you have a handgun loaded it needs to be on your person or locked up.

Re Long Gun: Cite, please?

AFAIK, if it's a non-large capacity, the only transportation requirement is that it be unloaded. Locked case is Massprudent, but not required by law.

Re handgun: Cite, please?

I believe that the handgun has to be unloaded (no cartridge in the chamber(s) or magazine, if contained within the firearm, for transport (not carry on one's person), and that a loaded handgun, even secured is a no-no. Though there may be another opinion on the exact wording.

RE bikes in Arlington: It's insane, in the center, where the bike trail vanishes for 100 yards. One day, I was pulling out from the drive-through at the bank, with a trailer, and had to wait for a break in traffic on Mass Ave. I was completely blocking the sidewalk. The clown-suit wearing adults on high-end bikes were p!ssed. Me, I was wondering why they were on the sidewalk? The section of sidewalk by the Uncle Sam statue is a horror show. My mom lived in Arlington, and I told her to keep away from there, so she would not get run down.
 
I have been noticing that peds and such have been in a sort of a haze, I think some of them are getting too accustomed to minimal traffic being around.

Either that or more of them are walking and biking drunk, now, after WFH for 2 months.

-Mike
When we drive, we always have to act as if we're the person ultimately responsible for what happens, but looking around it seems painfully obvious that there are a lot of people walking and biking while distracted. You know, doing the things that are now (in my opinion, thankfully) illegal to do while operating a motor vehicle. A lot of pedestrians have earbuds jammed in their ears with the volume turned up so loud an air horn probably wouldn't get their attention.

At the end of the day, though, as motor vehicle operators I think we just have to take distraction into account and be even more careful.
 
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