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69-year-old Cambridge bicyclist dies after Fenway collision

Paula Sharaga. Public Library of Brookline

A 69-year-old woman riding a bicycle was struck and killed by a cement truck in a busy intersection in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood early Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Paula Sharaga of Cambridge was pronounced dead at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where she was taken after being struck by the truck on Brookline Avenue at Park Drive around 1:45 p.m., State Police said.

The driver of the cement truck, a 67-year-old man from Salem, was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for evaluation, authorities said.

A preliminary investigation indicates that the truck was stopped at a traffic light on Brookline Avenue and when the light turned green, started to move forward, according to State Police.

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Sharaga was riding in the intersection and came into contact with the front end of the truck, according to authorities. When a trooper reached Sharaga, two civilians were performing CPR on her.

A third civilian, who identified himself as a trauma physician, also provided aid at the scene, State Police said. The incident remains under investigation. It has not yet been determined if charges are warranted, according to State Police.

Map: Location of fatal collision

The fatality marked the third time in the last year and a half that a cyclist was killed by a large truck in Boston and Cambridge, a cycling advocate said.

“This is just another tragic example of the fact that large trucks are not safe on our streets,” said Becca Wolfson , executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Boston Cyclists Union.

Last November, a 24-year-old Boston University graduate student riding a bicycle was fatally struck by a dump truck near the Museum of Science. The previous November, a 19-year-old man on a bicycle was struck and killed by a dump truck in Dorchester.

Wolfson said 18 cyclists have been killed in Boston and Cambridge during the last seven years. Of those 18 crashes, 12 have involved large trucks, she said.

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She would like to see all large work trucks feature sideguards that could protect pedestrians and cyclists in the event of a crash and additional mirrors to reduce blind spots. She also would like to see trucks equipped with shorter hoods and cabs that have increased side visibility.

“What we want to see is private industry stepping up and leading and not waiting for legislation for safer trucks,” she said.

Elsewhere on Friday, State Police were also investigating a crash in Revere after an alleged drunk driver crashed into a school van, sending one teenager to the hospital with injuries that are believed to be non-life-threatening. That crash occurred shortly after 1 p.m., according to police.

A 45-year-old Revere woman, Kerry Grasso, was arrested for drunken driving and a marked lanes violation after crashing into a school van at Eliot Circle in Revere, State Police said.

The teenagers on the bus were heading home from Northeast Metro Tech. One student was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Both are active State Police investigations.


Previous Globe coverage was used in this report. Sabrina Schnur can be reached at sabrina.schnur@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @sabrina_schnur.