Civic leader still in coma after being struck
By Beth Daley, Boston Globe Staff and Jason Pring Globe Correspondent, 11/07/97
As Boston School Committee member William Spring crossed the street on his nightly walk home from work last Thursday, tragedy struck. A bicycle courier slammed into him.
Spring, 62, a Federal Reserve Bank vice president who is nationally known for his education efforts, remains in a coma at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
The accident stunned family and friends, who have responded with outpourings of public support, and private bewilderment that a simple walk home could turn so disastrous. The episode has also sparked renewed outrage at the scores of bicycle couriers who race past pedestrians to deliver mail that pays by the package.
''There is almost no one who doesn't have a story about couriers,'' said Boston attorney Carmen Durso, who was hit last year as he tried to cross Bromfield Street downtown. ''That messenger said to me, `If I was going faster, I would have really hurt you.' ... They have no concern.''
But bicycle couriers say pedestrians often appear out of nowhere on streets, and expect to have the right of way.
Yesterday, Fleet Bank president John Hamill said in an interview that he views couriers as a hazard to pedestrians and that he intends to meet with other Boston business leaders about the issue. ''We have to find a solution,'' Hamill said. ''And if we cannot come to an agreement, the business community should seek alternative ways to have these messages delivered to our place of business.''
Spring was hit only yards from his front door on Commonwealth Avenue by bike messenger Jonathan Gladstone, 28, of Somerville, a courier with Brattle Courier of Cambridge, Boston police said. Spring was crossing Commonwealth Avenue at Clarendon Street when Gladstone hit him, said Margot Hill, a sergeant detective with the Boston Police Department. The accident is still under investigation.
Gladstone, who suffered head injuries and was hospitalized, was not registered as a courier in Boston as required, Hill said.
Gladstone declined comment yesterday about the accident. But he said in an interview that he has applied for a courier's license in Boston since the accident. Brattle Courier did not return phone calls. Cambridge does not require couriers to have courier licenses.
Yesterday, dozens of people stopped by Beth Israel or called Spring's wife, Micho Spring, a well-known political strategist who is president of the Boston office of Bozell Sawyer Miller Group and was chief policy adviser to former Mayor Kevin White. Spring has three adult children from a previous marriage, and two teenage children with Micho, ages 13 and 16. Spring suffered serious facial and head injuries and his condition yesterday was critical. ''The enormous outpouring of love and affection for Bill has provided great support to our family and we are very grateful,'' Micho Spring said in a prepared statement yesterday.
Spring, a 1959 Harvard graduate, is a former member of President Jimmy Carter's domestic policy staff and is considered a specialist in job training. He spearheaded the Boston Compact in 1982, an agreement between businesses - which pledged jobs for students - and the Boston public schools, which pledged to lower dropout rates and improve students' performance in return.
Spring has also been a tireless champion for decades of school-to-career initiatives for Boston youth. He is co-chair of MassJobs Council and recently was appointed to head a high school restructuring task force in the school system.
Boston police, who say some couriers are clearly out of control, have an ongoing task force looking at better ways to police couriers[sic]. Brendan Flynn, assistant to the police commissioner, said he estimates that there are more than two courier accidents a month involving cars, and more involving pedestrians. Precise numbers were not available.
Since 1992, Boston couriers have been required to have a $20 license, and wear orange reflective vests and helmets when riding. Flynn says there are 300 registered couriers but ''it is our guess there are five times that number operating'' in Boston.
In the last year, police have handed out hundreds of $20 to $100 fines ranging from infractions of the rules of the road to not having a license, Flynn said. Police, pedestrians, drivers and even some courier service managers said yesterday the subculture of the bike messenger business can be confrontational.
''Not all bike messengers do this, but a minority do,'' said officer Kenneth Westhaver, who patrols Beacon Hill by bike. ''I've seen a courier go through a red light, almost get hit by the car, and the bike messenger started spitting on the car, yelling at the driver. People get hit with bike locks.''
Bicycle couriers defended their work yesterday and said the job creates tense situations. Bicycle courier Adam Ford, 27, says his job can be ''the most exhilarating single experience you can have downtown, but it can also be the most frustrating and galling,'' because of jaywalkers who squeeze between cars to cross a street.
This story ran on page A01 of the Boston Globe on 11/07/97. © Copyright 1997 Globe Newspaper Company.
It's misguided to blame Boston bicycle couriers
By Tanja Foulds Dorchester, 11/08/97
I am writing in response to the article ''Outcry over bicycle couriers,'' (Page 1, Nov. 7).
I also was saddened to read about the accident that seriously injured William Spring. My thoughts and sympathy go out to his family.
My husband is a bike courier who works harder than anyone I know. The job is demanding, Boston weather is far from ideal, potholes and construction cause hazards every day, and Bostonians are world known for their erratic driving.
The article suggests that the city may seek alternative ways to have messages delivered. By car? By cab? These seem to be the only alternatives, and I can only guess that using these modes of transportation would cause more accidents and deaths.
Bike couriers provide a service that businesses depend upon and value. People in downtown Boston must all be more aware of the people and vehicles around them. This includes couriers, drivers, and pedestrians. All groups must try to understand each other's needs.
This story ran on page A A16 16 of the Boston Globe on 11/08/97. c Copyright 1997 Globe Newspaper Company.
Re: Bill Spring accident
Milton Trimitsis (miltont@world.std.com) Thu, 6 Nov 1997 20:59:37 -0500 (EST)
On Thu, 6 Nov 1997, Betsy Johnson wrote:
> Does anyone know more about the circumstances surrounding Bill Spring, Fed. Bank executive and Boston school committee member's being hit by a bicyclist recently on Commonwealth Ave.? Was the accident at an intersection? Was there a red or green light?
the cyclist who was involved in the accident is a customer and friend from the shop at which i work. he described the circumstances of the accident to me thusly:
he was traveling on commonwealth ave toward the intersection of clarendon. he slowed for a red light, then the light turned green and he accellerated through it. after the light changed, a pedestrian stepped out from between parked cars just beyond the intersection, directly into my friend's path. the top of my friend's head hit the pedestrian's face, knocking the pedestrian to the ground.
my friend indicated that the police report accurately reflected the nature of the incident. he also said that he was pleasantly surprised at the respectful treatment he got from the police investigator.
my friend is recovering from his injuries, but has not yet been able to return to work. the reports he has gotten of the pedestrian's condition are cautiously optimistic.
milton trimitsis
Fwd: bike msgr
From: Andy Hong (Go Speed Racer!) <sracer@media.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 18:42:17 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: bike msgr
[...stuff about pedestrian crossing against the light...] Jonathan, the bike messenger, is friend of mine. Some interesting stuff that was left out of the above description: The pedestrian was running across the street, trying to beat the traffic as the light had just changed. After the impact, when Jonathan realized he was bleeding profusely from his head (no helmet!!!), he reached up and felt what seemed like shards of cracked skull. At the hospital, two of the pedestrian's teeth were pulled out of Jonathan's head. Jonathan tried everything he could to help the fallen pedestrian... and only noticed his own injury after he'd checked on the pedestrian and called for help. When the reporter called him, the reporter explicitly answered Jonathan's question about the article tone with a YES, the article would be anti-bike.
- -- andyhong
Re: massbike-digest V1 #473 - Mess/Ped Accident
Jonathan M. Gladstone (stooge@shore.net) Sat, 8 Nov 1997 10:29:51 -0500
>> If the messenger says that he went through a green light and that Spring was jaywalking (as claimed by Milton Trimitsis on this mailing list yesterday), it's very unfortunate that he did not choose to tell this to the Globe reporters. How do we know that he did not?
in fact, the reporter had that information from the police report (she told me briefly what she understood to be the facts, which were accurate).
She chose not to print them.
If you have comments or suggestions, email me at messvilleto@yahoo.com