Weston Road Crash on BroadSide with Jim Braude

We may never know why the grand jury elected not to indict in the hit-and-run crash that took the life of 41-year-old Alex Motsenigos, but some suggest it is a larger issue than one case.

The incident was a topic of discussion on NECN's BroadSide with Jim Braude earlier this week. He sat down with David Watson, executive director of MassBike, and Josh Zisson, a lawyer who writes the Bike Safe Boston blog. Both spoke to the Globe in their report on the outcome.

The failing, Watson told Braude, was not on the police or prosecutors, but on the members of the grand jury connecting more to the driver of the truck, Dana McCoomb. He supposed a lack of empathy could have been a factor. 

The grand jury proceedings are secret, so Zisson could not speculate on what evidence would have been admissable, but he told Braude that McCoomb's driving record may not have been usable as evidence. 

The Wellesley Police report indicates that McCoomb had 26 moving violations on his record, of which 11 were surchargeable. 

See the full video on NECN's website. 

The case comes from last August, when Wellesley cyclist Alexander Motsenigos lost his life after being struck by a passing truck on a summer afternoon, at the intersection of Linden Street and Weston Road. Motsenigos, 41, was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, but sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

In September, Boston Magazine also said "There has to be some accountability." Word is that the victim's family intends to file a civil suit. When the Grand Jury returned with its verdict, they elected not to indict Dana McCoomb, which angered the cycling community. The Motsenigos family is seeking a civil suit. 

In July, before the crash, Patch readers voted that intersection one of the most dangerous in Wellesley.

Hat tip to the Swellesley Report. See their post for more on the fallout from the crash verdict.