Cyclist Sent To Hospital After Hit By Car In Brookline

BROOKLINE, MA — A cyclist is in serious condition after they were hit by a car in Brookline, according to police. Around 9 a.m. a cyclist was riding along Newton Street when they were hit by a car.

Traffic was backed up to Putterham Circle as emergency crews worked to help the cyclist.

Dept. Superintendent Michael Gropman told Patch the driver is cooperating with police as they investigate.

"It was very wet and rainy and dark this appears to be a very unfortunate accident," Gropman said. Police said the car was in a marked lane when contact was made with the cyclist.

The area doesn't have painted bike lanes.

The former chair person of the Brookline Bike Committee Cynthia Snow said she's done annual bike counts at the intersection of Newton and Clyde streets, down the road from where the crash happened.

"It's a very high traffic area," she said. "The traffic tends to move fast and tends to be very dangerous for cyclists. Not many cyclists brave that area."

She's ridden it, but describes it as "not pleasant," despite a relatively good shoulder there.

One of the problems, she said, is that there's a traffic signal combined with a hill. The signal doesn't have a dedicated left turn, so depending on where the car is coming from, you can't see traffic heading in.

"If the cyclist was going in and the motorist was trying to make a turn they might not have seen each other," she said.

Snow said the Brookline Bike Committee's plan for Brookline specifically mentions the intersection of Allendale and Newton as a place that needs a better signal, so you don't have the conflict of cars coming fast over the hill.

"It's very nerve wracking," she said.

The advisory group has asked for bike lanes in that whole stretch, and preferably protected bike lanes.

"That's the standard now if you want cyclists to be relatively safe on the road," she said.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).