In each of the last three years, the City of Charlottesville has seen at least one fatality stemming from a collision involving some combination of cars, bicyclists and pedestrians. Last week, a UVA graduate student became the first fatality of 2010.
On the morning of Monday, April 19, Matthew Steven King was riding his bike on West Main Street when he collided with a City of Charlottesville utility truck at the intersection of Fourth Street NE. King, who had been wearing a helmet, was transported to the UVA Emergency Room after the collision, and pronounced dead at around 9:31am from injuries sustained in the accident.
That night, another bicyclist, Sherwood Richers, was reportedly struck by a taxi at the intersection of Emmet Street and University Avenue—less than two miles from the intersection where King was hit. Richers was wearing dark clothes and did not have a light on his bike.
According to statistics provided by Kristin O’Connell, crime analyst with the city police, 57 pedestrians and 10 bicyclists were involved in accidents in 2008, with one fatality recorded in a vehicle collision. In 2009, the number of collisions involving pedestrians decreased to 26, but one pedestrian was killed; 12 bicyclists were also involved in collisions that year. In the first months of 2010, so far 11 pedestrian and five bicycle collisions have been reported.
Although the police report on April 19’s fatal accident has not yet been released, this much is confirmed: Both King and the truck were traveling west on West Main Street, in front of West Main Restaurant. When the truck made a right turn, King and the truck collided.
The vehicle involved is both a vacuum and flusher truck. “It’s a large piece of maintenance equipment that’s used to clear sewer lines,” says Judy Mueller, director of Public Works, who added that at the time of the accident, the driver was returning to the yard located on Fourth Street. According to city spokesman Ric Barrick, the driver is on administrative leave with pay and “should return this week, but that is by his choice.”
The loss of a promising young scholar has led bicycle advocates to think, and rethink in some cases, of ways to improve the city’s bike network.
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The intersection of Fourth and West Main streets, where Matthew Steven King collided with a city utility truck while on his bicycle. Last year, the City of Charlottesville spent $700,000 on pedestrian safety improvements. |
“Fragmented bicycle lanes make it really difficult, especially for inexperienced cyclists, to understand exactly what they need to do, and it makes it difficult for drivers to understand as well,” says Vince Caristo, executive director of Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation (ACCT).
Mayor Dave Norris says that one reason for the fragmentation is that “the city has not been willing to take away on-street parking in order to make room for bikes.
“It’s bound to be a controversial decision if we decide to remove on-street parking spaces, but it’s something that we are going to work at,” says Norris.
After local artist Gerry Mitchell was hit by an Albemarle County police car and thrown from his wheelchair at the same intersection where King was hit, the city created a pedestrian safety committee and later added bike safety to its mission. In 2009, the city spent about $700,000 for improvements relating mostly to pedestrian safety, including new sidewalk ramps, pedestrian signals and signalized intersections.
While West Main Street is problematic, Roger Friend of Blue Wheel Bicycles says that it’s people’s responsibility to be aware of their surroundings.
“People operate motor vehicles and they don’t take it very seriously,” he says. “If you want to change one thing, that’s it: put away your cell phone, put down the Big Mac, restrain your kids…when a person sits behind a wheel of an automobile, then that should be all they are doing. Same thing for the bike riders.”
City Councilor David Brown agrees. Himself an avid biker, Brown says the city has been working on bicycling issues for a while, but the harder decisions are still ahead.
“For example, a policy decision would be to remove a lane of traffic on West Main Street, so that the road would be wider and better, and better bike lanes without the risk of someone opening the car door right in the path,” he says. Money is also a concern. Brown says that one inexpensive step is to convert stoplights so that they can be operated by bicyclists.
“Having said all that,” says Brown, “I feel safe as a cyclist in Charlottesville and I use my bike several days a week. Part of that is being an alert and defensive cyclist.”
For Norris, Brown and Caristo, educating the public on the rights and responsibilities of bicyclists is a top priority.
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King, a 23-year-old graduate student in UVA’s math department, was injured at the same intersection where wheelchair-bound resident Gerry Mitchell was hit in 2007. |
“We as bicyclists need to become more predictable as a group, which involves all having the same behavior about stopping at street signs, stoplights, using lights at nighttime,” says Brown.
King, 23, was a UVA doctoral student in the math department and an avid sportsman, blogger and photographer. He graduated from Clemson University in 2009 where he majored in Mathematical Sciences and Russian. Before his fatal accident, King was working at The Haven, a Downtown homeless shelter, where his church, All Souls, provides volunteers to cook in the shelter’s kitchen every Monday.
“He was always gracious, smiling…the kind of volunteer who loves being here,” says Kaki Dimock, the executive director for the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless. Lena Zentgraf, manager of the Haven’s kitchen, says anything King was asked, “he did it and was excited to do it.”
A visibly fit man, King joined CrossFit gym in Charlottesville in January. The day after the accident the gym posted a workout in honor of King.
“I did not know him outside the gym, but I can tell you inside the gym he was an extremely impressive athlete,” says Kyle Redinger, co-owner of CrossFit Charlottesville. “He pushed himself to the limits every single workout.”
Fellow first-year graduate students in mathematics remember King as an outgoing and inspiring human being.
“He really was one of those people who when he was around, you felt his presence,” says Ashley Rall. “Monday morning we all noticed. Matt has never been absent from algebra.”
King’s professors noticed his affinity for the material. “His most distinct feature is that he was very original,” says Mikhail Ershov, assistant professor of mathematics. “I think he really had a chance to become an original researcher.”
A large crowd gathered Friday evening at the intersection of West Main and Fourth streets to pay tribute to King and plan for a more unified future for pedestrians, bikers and drivers alike. Norris told the crowd of King’s friends, bicyclists, UVA professors, elected officials, and city and county residents that the “tragic” accident is a reminder of “what more can we be doing” to make the streets of Charlottesville safer.
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