Mother fights for new bike law

By Katelyn Gendron-List, Staff Writer

WEST SPRINGFIELD The mother of a local teen killed by a motor vehicle in 2003 while riding his bicycle home from work, has not stop fighting for justice in the wake of his death. In fact she has taken on another crusade to promote a new piece of bicycle safety legislation sponsored by Senator Pamela Resor (D-Middlesex and Worcester).

Sheila Pecor, of West Springfield, and the mother of the late Kevin Pecor testified at the Joint Committee of Public Safety and Homeland Security on June 13, in enormous support of Resor's Senate Bill 1414.

"My son was horribly, brutally killed, and the person that killed him had no consequences," Pecor said. "What I am hoping to do is to make the roads safer so that my son will not have died for nothing."

On January 13, 2003 Kevin Pecor was riding his bicycle home from work at Dunkin' Donuts at 6:45 p.m. According to the Engineering Report of the Accident to Date, conducted by Michael Miller of the Spectrum Engineering Group, Inc., Pecor was traveling west on the right side of Amostown Road and was struck by a motor vehicle.

According to court documentation, Pecor began moving into the left lane after hearing the approaching cars behind him; he was then struck by a 1996 Honda Civic, knocking him to the ground, when a second vehicle, a 2002 Ford Focus then ran him over. The driver of the Civic was operating the vehicle with a suspended license and registration, and was not insured.

In a statement given by the driver to the West Springfield Police Department, the driver of the Ford Focus, swerved to the left to avoid the cyclist when he felt something under his car. Pecor was pronounced dead at the scene.

In the wake of her son's death Pecor has been working tirelessly with local legislators on promoting bicycle safety legislation, in addition to the legislation in memory of Kevin.

According to Pecor, Senate Bill 1414 highlights many of the issues that contributed to the accident. Specifically, this proposed legislation illustrates the most common causes of accidents between bicyclists and motorists and changes current law enforcement procedures regarding bicyclists. The bill also calls for a training program for police officers, teaching them their duties in regards to bicyclists and motorists.

"I think that this bill is very important to get an understanding of the relationship between cyclists and motorists," said Resor. "This legislation will promote accountability for both cyclists and motor vehicles and it's not so much about giving cyclists special protection but about the relationship between them and integrating them into existing traffic."

According to Mary Michelman, legislative aid to Resor, Senate Bill 1414, was previously House Bill 5372, sponsored by former legislator Anne Paulson. The bill made it through the Legislature and to Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey and was vetoed in the eleventh hour.

However the bills are not exactly the same, stated Michelman. The new bill addresses the most common cause of accidents between bicyclists and vehicles, which is during turning or when a vehicle door is opened without looking for a pedestrian or bicyclist. The new bill also establishes fines for accidents, so that the police have the right to ticket bicyclists as well as drivers. Another change is that Senate Bill 1414 establishes classes about bicyclists for police officers.

Currently the Joint Committee of Public Safety and Homeland Security is reviewing the bill and will come back with suggestions on the proposed legislation before it can be taken to the floor of the Senate.

"I co-chaired the Pedestrian and Bicycle Caucus with Anne Paulson," said Resor. "The passage of this bill is one of the goals of the Caucus."

As far as Pecor is concerned the battle for bicycle safety and justice for her son's death will never be over, as the legislation proposed in honor of Kevin is still awaiting hearing by the Judiciary Committee.

The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 825 or the Kevin J. Pecor Act, sponsored by Senator Gale Candaras (D-First Hampden and Hampshire) is aimed at creating a new crime for people deemed negligent, as they have caused bodily harm to another person while driving a vehicle with a suspended license.

"Heaven forbid I see this happen to another mother and I didn't do anything to help make the roads safer than I'm just as guilty," Pecor said.