Cyclist Killed in Collision With Truck at DeWolfe and Mount Auburn Streets

Updated June 8, 2024, at 10:41 a.m.

A Florida woman was killed in a collision with a truck while riding her bicycle at the intersection of DeWolfe Street and Mount Auburn St. around 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Cambridge Police Department spokesperson Robert Goulston confirmed the time and location of the crash in a statement on Friday and wrote that “the cyclist did not survive their injuries.” The woman, 55, was not identified by Goulston.

“This is an open and active investigation being conducted by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, the Cambridge Police Department and Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section,” Goulston wrote.

The incident occurred between Quincy House and St. Paul’s Parish.

Goulston wrote that the “preliminary investigation suggests that both the truck and the bicycle were traveling in the same direction on Mt Auburn Street and the truck was turning onto DeWolf Street at the time of the crash.”

The driver of the truck remained on the scene as first responders transported the cyclist to CHA Cambridge Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to Goulston.

The bicycle involved in the crash was a Bluebike, part of the Boston area’s bike share program. The truck was a yellow semi-truck with the logo of JMC Transportation — a carrier based out of Scituate, Mass. — on its cab. The truck remained parked near the site of the crash for several hours.

The truck lacked side guards, a protective measure designed to prevent cyclists and pedestrians from tumbling underneath the vehicle, according to the Cambridge Day.

A JMC representative declined to comment on the crash.

Shortly after the crash, an ambulance was parked at the intersection, and CPD officers redirected vehicle traffic around the intersection. Officers installed yellow caution tape around the scene of the collision and blocked the site with at least five CPD cars.

The bicycle’s front tire was bent, and the mudguard over the rear tire had broken off. Discarded medical equipment, including an automated external defibrillator, was scattered on the asphalt near the bike.

As of 6:30 p.m., traffic was flowing down Mt. Auburn St., but a portion of DeWolfe St. south of the intersection was still blocked off. At least eight CPD officers and six cars remained at the site.

A representative for the transit advocacy group Cambridge Bicycle Safety wrote that the group was “heartbroken to hear of the fatal crash involving a person riding a bike in Cambridge today.”

“Cambridge Bicycle Safety remains committed to a future where no one needs to endure such tragedies. We have more to do to improve our infrastructure to make our streets safe for everyone who travels them,” the representative wrote.

Correction: June 17, 2024

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the incident was the first fatal bicycle crash in the greater Boston area since July 2022. In fact, there have been a number of fatal bicycle crashes since July 2022.

Correction: June 10, 2024

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the incident was the first fatal bicycle crash in Cambridge since July 2022. In fact, the 2022 crash being referenced actually occurred in Boston.

—Staff writer Matan H. Josephy can be reached at matan.josephy@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @matanjosephy.

—Staff writer Tilly R. Robinson can be reached at tilly.robinson@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @tillyrobin.