The WWBPA is saddened by the tragic death of a cyclist killed by an overtaking vehicle on Dutch Neck Road in East Windsor on February 16.? According to local newspaper accounts, the East Windsor man,? Edward Boye, relied on his bicycle to get around because he suffered from cerebral palsy. The driver, Margaret Corrigan, also of East Windsor, is reportedly facing vehicular homicide charges, among others.
This is the second serious accident on Dutch Neck Road this month involving a cyclist or pedestrian. Earlier this month, a cast member of? ‘Sesame Street’ who lives in the area was hospitalized after being hit by a car while crossing Route 130 at Dutch Neck Road.
Please drive safely within the speed limit and give bicyclists plenty of room when passing – half a lane is a good rule of thumb. Under New Jersey law, bicyclists have the right to ride in the travel lane. Motorists, please share the road with bicyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable users of the roadway, such as the disabled, crossing guards, police officers and maintenance workers.
Please join us in extending our condolences to the families of everyone involved in this collision.
[…] than 2 1/2 years ago, Edward Boye was killed by a motorist while riding his bicycle on Dutch Neck Road in East Windsor, not far from the border with West […]
I’m sad this has happened but I just hate when things like this lead to silly speed traps and knee jerk reactions. What people really need to do is just slow down when there are bikers/people in the shoulder and give them some room, as well as keep on the alert for things like this. I always slow down for cyclists and the like no matter where I am but some people do not.
Read this letter to the editor that appeared in the Trenton Times on February 19:
Bicyclists have the right
to share the roadway
I read “East Windsor man killed in bike accident” (Feb. 17), regarding the cycling accident on Dutch Neck Road on Tuesday, with sadness, anger and disgust. I am a six-time Ironman triathlete who rides more than 3,000 miles each year.
I would like to make a few points: 1)Regardless of whether there is a shoulder or bike lane, cyclists have just as much right to be on any road as a car does; 2) the mention in the article of a “blacktop sidewalk” just past the accident scene is irrelevant, and the implication that perhaps the victim should have been riding on it is ludicrous; and 3) charges against the driver were “pending investigation” — anything short of vehicular homicide would have been the second crime committed in this case (“Motorist charged in cyclist’s death,” Feb. 18).
The newspaper is a powerful medium through which to report the news. I ask The Times to please refrain from making the victim in this most tragic accident into the one responsible for its occurrence.
Eileen Murphy,
West Windsor
Edward Boye and I often jogged together from about 1985 to 1990. I was at his house several times and would often give him a ride to various spots when he could not take his specially designed bike. I last ran into him a few years ago when Eileen and I, out on our road bikes, overtook him traveling eastbound on Dutch Neck Road, just east of the intersection with Village/Hankins, where we had a nice chat. A wonderful man, and Eileen and I will miss him.
My thanks to WWBPA for the wonderful picture above. I had been curious as to the exact location. With your organization’s fine work, tragedies like this will be much less likely. Keep it up!
Henry Murphy
[…] « Cycling Tragedy in East Windsor […]
Thoughts on the death of Edward Boye
Michael Ogg
February 18, 2010
I didn’t know Edward. I learned of his Tuesday death in East Windsor yesterday. Edward had Cerebral Palsy, CP. I don’t know the extent of his disability but he was riding a tricycle which is about halfway between a bicycle and a wheelchair. Cyclists probably relate to him as a fellow cyclist; I relate to him as a disabled person using a mobility device. Edward was riding his tricycle on Dutch Neck Road, a not especially busy suburban road, although there are some straight stretches where cars go quite fast. He was riding in the shoulder, or rather what was left of the shoulder after incomplete snow removal. He was struck from behind by a car and was thrown off his tricycle. He was taken to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital but was dead on arrival. The driver has since been charged with vehicular homicide; that’s little comfort to Edward.
I have Multiple Sclerosis, MS, and use a power wheelchair. Although MS and CP are very different diseases, there are many similarities in their symptomatologies. As with several acquaintances of mine with CP, I try to live life to the full despite my disability. I go everywhere in my wheelchair in all weather, even in the snows we’ve been having in the last few weeks. I haven’t been able to drive for a few years now so the wheelchair is all I’ve got. Very often I have to use the road: often there’s no sidewalk, or the sidewalk is too badly damaged by broken paving slabs or tree roots, or it’s impassable because residents haven’t cleared brush, or, as now, residents haven’t cleared snow or snow plows have used curb ramps as convenient dumping places for snow, or, also as now, I have decubitus ulcers and the jarring and bumping from even a passable sidewalk is too painful. If there’s a shoulder or bike lane I’ll use it. I have a fast wheelchair: not as fast as an average cyclist but faster than a slow cyclist or average runner, so if there’s no shoulder nor usable sidewalk I’ll use the road. I’m sure this sort of calculation was familiar to Edward.
Tomorrow I have to go to the Kessler Institute in West Orange for Occupational and Physical Therapy. I made my transportation arrangements on Tuesday. I have to take the train to Newark and then made a reservation with NJ Transit’s disability service, Access Link, to take me from Newark to West Orange. I don’t particularly like Access Link: apart from having to make arrangements at least 24 hours in advance, the pickup time is only within a 40 minute window, the driving time is very unpredictable (it could be 20 minutes or if there are other pickups as much as one and a half hours), and it is unusual to get exactly the times one needs. For this trip, either it was too early (I have a home assistant who comes at 6 a.m. to wash and dress me: I’m not ready until 7:30 a.m.) or it was too late and I’d miss half the appointment. I had no choice but to take the later time. I don’t know whether Edward used Access Link, but even if he did, I’m sure he preferred to cycle whenever possible, just as I prefer to use my wheelchair whenever possible.
There is a bus from Newark to West Orange that I’ve sometimes used when I couldn’t get a convenient Access Link pickup. However, the last half mile is on a busy four lane county road. When I was there on Monday, the shoulder was full of snow. I was about to cancel my Access Link reservation and take the bus instead. Then I thought of Edward. Dutch Neck Road is a much quieter road. I called Kessler to say I’d be late for my appointment. I’d keep my Access Link reservation but get there alive. Edward, I’m sorry I never knew you. I think we’d have both enjoyed sharing fish stories over a beer.