Cement Truck Driver Kills Man In Wheelchair In Boston’s South End

On Tuesday morning, an as-yet-unidentified driver of a Boston Sand and Gravel cement truck drove over and killed Fernando R. Pizarro of Boston near the intersection of Traveler Street and the I-93 Northbound Frontage Road in South Boston.

According to Massachusetts State Police, the killing occurred around 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, and Pizarro, aged 57, was declared dead at the scene.

After a preliminary investigation, police speculate that Mr. Pizarro was wheeling through the intersection of Traveler Street and Frontage Road just before the crash, and was located in front of the cement truck as traffic began to move.

Police have not identified the perpetrator, but described him as a 53-year-old Medford man. Police screened the suspect for drug or alcohol use, but allege that they found no evidence of impairment.

The investigation is ongoing.

Both the Frontage Road and Traveler Street have crosswalks at this intersection, but they traverse multiple lanes of traffic.

Frontage Road is five lanes wide, with a narrow refuge island in the middle, and Traveler Street has four vehicular lanes, plus a bike lane that is intermittently protected with flexible-post bollards.

Wheelchair-accessible ramps at the ends of both crosswalks are frequently blocked by vehicles attempting to make right turns at the red light.

According to the MassDOT IMPACT crash database, there have been at least 50 crashes at this intersection since the beginning of 2019, including 14 crashes that injured at least one victim.

The intersection is also part of the South Bay Harbor Trail route between the Seaport and Roxbury.