By Daniel Vasquez
Boston Globe Staff, January 7,1999
See note below for missing facts
Boston Express Delivery registered its bicycle messenger service with the Boston Police Department yesterday, five days after the deadline set by a new Boston law - and two days after an employee was involved in a serious bicycle accident.
''We are glad the company has seen the light and come into compliance with the law,'' said Sergeant Detective Margot Hill.
A law that went into effect Jan. 1 requires all bicycle messenger companies and messengers to be licensed with police.
Police discovered Boston Express Delivery had missed the deadline after an employee, Darrin W. Linder, seriously injured a 54-year-old pedestrian Monday. Linder was riding a bicycle the wrong way on Summer Street at the time.
According to police, the Brookline delivery company says Linder, 23, was not working when he struck John R. Falante of Lowell. Falante suffered head injuries and remained in serious condition at Massachusetts General Hospital yesterday.
In seeking its license yesterday, Boston Express presented police with a list of bicycle messengers who worked for the firm. Linder's name was not on the list, Hill said.
Burgess E. Morse, an attorney representing Linder, yesterday would not say whether Linder was working at the time of the accident or whether his client works as a courier for Boston Express Delivery.
Morse said his client is being investigated by police and it would be premature for him to comment.
Hill said Linder will likely be charged only with a civil infraction for 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 working when the accident occurred, although they acknowledged he had dropped off a van in South Boston before it happened. The company called it a favor and 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 said it was looking into the matter.
Since much of the reporting in this accident is selective when it comes to the facts, Messengerville has included some. These types of serious accidents involving bike couriers are extremely rare. 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 required bicycle couriers to have licenses, wear visible identification numbers, and have license plates on their bikes. It also required messenger companies to register with the city. Much to the dismay of the anti-bike types, the only new requirement is insurance. Automobile couriers face no similar requirements.
Since the accident took place at an intersection crosswalk Gladstone was ticketed because, under the law vehicles must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk - even if the pedestrian is jaywalking. The fines he received were: "$100 for not wearing the vest required under a city ordinance; $100 for not being licensed, and $20 under the state law mandating deference to pedestrians in crosswalks. In other words $200 for bureaucratic violations and $20 for traffic violations.
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