Westwood Nurse Killed, Brighton Leader Cites Traffic Concerns

WESTWOOD, MA - A Westwood nurse was struck by a car and killed in Brighton Wednesday morning as she was crossing the street to St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, where she worked.

According to a Boston 25 news report, Ann O'Flaherty of Westwood was hit by a silver Audi and killed at around 6 a.m.Wednesday morning. The driver of the car stayed on the scene of the accident.

The Boston Globe reported that she was struck at 6:20 a.m. at the intersection of Washington and Cambridge streets, according to Boston police. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

O'Flaherty, a native of Ireland, worked at the hospital for 38 years. She is survived by her husband and three children.

“This morning, a St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center employee was struck by a passing vehicle and died at the scene. We are heartbroken by the news of this tragic accident and are providing support to the victim’s family and our colleagues during this very difficult time,’' a statement from the medical center said on Wednesday. “The Boston Police Department is currently investigating the accident and we are providing full assistance.”

Tony D'Isidoro, president of the Allston Civic Association and an active member of the Allston-Brighton community, said there are a number of issues that are making conditions more dangerous for pedestrians in the neighborhood.

"My concern locally is given the level of development," he said,"especially life science which tends to be very auto centric, with increased congestion forcing autos to travel on neighborhood streets."

He also cited the ongoing problems with service levels for public transportation and the inability of the Boston and the state to "fund and upgrade the public realm to make it more bike and pedestrian friendly ."

He also pointed out that driver behavior has gotten worse since the pandemic.

"I fear our risk levels will continue to be high when it comes to public safety," D'Isidoro said.

"While Americans drove less in 2020 due to the pandemic, an estimated 38,680 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes—the largest projected number of fatalities since 2007," he pointed out. "The main behaviors that drove this increase include impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding and failure to wear a seat belt.

"Unfortunately, 2021 is on pace to be more deadly than 2020," he continued. "There were more than 20,000 traffic deaths in the first six months of 2021, the highest number for that period in 15 years."

D'Isidoro said some ways to alleviate the problem are increased advocacy for impaired driving legislation equalizing alcohol with marijuana as well as carmakers and traffic engineeers working to "do a better job" in preventing traffic fatalities.

A shortage of police to monitor traffic is another component of the problem, he added.

"I was told that Area D-4 is understaffed, relegating traffic enforcement to a lower priority, D'Isidoro said. "I would assume all the attention police departments are getting around the country has hurt recruitment and retention."

The Boston Police Department this afternoon confirmed that there are no updates on the investigation. A request was made for car accidents involving pedestirans in 2020 and 2021 to confirm area data.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.