By Daniel Vasquez
Boston Globe Staff, January 7,1999
See note below for missing facts
Boston Express Delivery registered its bicycle messenger service withthe Boston Police Department yesterday, five days after the deadline setby a new Boston law - and two days after an employee was involved in aserious bicycle accident.
''We are glad the company has seen the light and come into compliancewith the law,'' said Sergeant Detective Margot Hill.
A law that went into effect Jan. 1 requires all bicycle messenger companiesand messengers to be licensed with police.
Police discovered Boston Express Delivery had missed the deadline afteran employee, Darrin W. Linder, seriously injured a 54-year-old pedestrianMonday. Linder was riding a bicycle the wrong way on Summer Street at thetime.
According to police, the Brookline delivery company says Linder, 23,was not working when he struck John R. Falante of Lowell. Falante sufferedhead injuries and remained in serious condition at Massachusetts GeneralHospital yesterday.
In seeking its license yesterday, Boston Express presented police witha list of bicycle messengers who worked for the firm. Linder's name wasnot on the list, Hill said.
Burgess E. Morse, an attorney representing Linder, yesterday would notsay whether Linder was working at the time of the accident or whether hisclient works as a courier for Boston Express Delivery.
Morse said his client is being investigated by police and it would bepremature for him to comment.
Hill said Linder will likely be charged only with a civil infractionfor riding the wrong way on a one-way street - which carries a $20 fine- because there is no evidence he was acting as a courier at the time.
But Boston Express Delivery ''has raised eyebrows'' among investigators,Hill said, because company officials told police that Linder was not workingwhen the accident occurred, although they acknowledged he had dropped offa van in South Boston before it happened. The company called it a favorand would not tell police exactly where Linder had dropped off the van,Hill said.
Linder told police at the accident scene that he was working, said Hill.
In a statement, the company expressed sympathy for Falante and saidit was looking into the matter.
Since much of the reporting in this accident isselective when it comes to the facts, Messengerville has includedsome. These types of serious accidents involving bike couriers are extremelyrare. The Gladstone/Spring accident occurred when a pedestrian (Spring)ran across the street against a red light and collided with the cyclist(Gladstone) who was proceeding through a green light.
The bicycle messenger ordinance in effect at the time already requiredbicycle couriers to have licenses, wear visible identification numbers,and have license plates on their bikes. It also required messenger companiesto register with the city. Much to the dismay of the anti-bike types, theonly new requirement is insurance. Automobile couriers face no similarrequirements.
Since the accident took place at an intersection crosswalk Gladstonewas ticketed because, under the law vehicles must yield to pedestriansin the crosswalk - even if the pedestrian is jaywalking. The fines he receivedwere: "$100 for not wearing the vest required under a city ordinance;$100 for not being licensed, and $20 under the state law mandating deferenceto pedestrians in crosswalks. In other words $200 for bureaucratic violationsand $20 for traffic violations.
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