Witness describes heartbreaking scene at fatal bike path accident

Posted 7/25/18

Cynthia Silk of Warren, who walks the bike path daily, came upon the horrible scene at the intersection of the East Bay Bike Path and Poppasquash Road shortly after a deadly accident Tuesday …

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Witness describes heartbreaking scene at fatal bike path accident

Posted

Cynthia Silk of Warren, who walks the bike path daily, came upon the horrible scene at the intersection of the East Bay Bike Path and Poppasquash Road shortly after a deadly accident Tuesday afternoon. A 6-year-old boy riding an orange bicycle was killed while crossing the road.

Ms. Silk said she saw several family members, including the boy’s father, two grandparents, and two siblings.

“Their cries didn’t even sound human. They were wailing,” Ms. Silk said. She talked to the young siblings, who were crying. “They said, ‘I wish it was me, I wish it was me,’ ” she said.

“I saw the father of the little boy calling somebody, saying, ‘I don’t think it’s good, I don’t think it’s good.’ ”

“I was heartbroken, trying to empathize and put myself into what those little girls, and the dad, were feeling. Life is so fragile, and it’s all about being at the wrong place at the wrong time, together with the distractions of driving today … I felt badly for the 21-year-old girl that hit the little boy, too.”

Though in all areas of the bike path, pedestrians and bikers are supposed to yield to cars, Ms. Silk admits to violating those standards at times. “I know I’ve run my share of stop signs out here, because I like to get my exercise,” she said, “But it has definitely taught me a lesson. You have to be careful out here … it’s not just the drivers that are supposed to yield to us, we have to be very cautious.”

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.