Ghost Bike dedicated to Liv Pangburn
The DA has just confirmed no charges will be filed in the awful death of a young cyclist over four months ago:
From the Office of Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan
Oct. 8, 2013
No
charges are being sought against the driver of an Amherst College box
truck that was involved in a fatal collision with a bicyclist in Amherst
on May 26, 2013.
Livingston
“Liv” Pangburn, 22, of Amherst, died as the result of injuries he
sustained in the collision, which occurred at the intersection of
College Street (Route 9) and Dickinson Street. Pangburn was bicycling
eastbound down the right-hand side of College Street, which heads
downhill from the center of Amherst. Traffic was heavy at the time due
to commencement activities at Amherst College, and Pangburn was riding
alongside a steady stream of vehicles also heading eastbound.
Meanwhile, the Amherst College box truck was stopped in the westbound
lane, waiting to make a left-hand turn onto the Amherst College campus.
As
the eastbound traffic to Pangburn’s left slowed to a stop to allow the
box truck to make its turn, Pangburn continued down the right-hand lane,
passing the vehicles to his left. Pangburn was unable to slow or stop
his bicycle in time to avoid colliding with the truck, and instead
veered to the right in an unsuccessful attempt to maneuver around the
truck. Pangburn was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, but
sustained traumatic injuries to his torso.
The
Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction
Section (“CARS”) determined that the driver of the box truck could not
have seen Pangburn in sufficient time to abort his turn and found no
evidence that impairment, cell phone use, or mechanical defects played
any part in the collision.
The
incident was jointly investigated by the Amherst Police, the
Massachusetts State Police Detectives Unit attached to the Northwestern
District Attorney’s Office, and CARS.
Mary Carey – Communications Director
