In 2013, Amelie Le Moullac, a hard-working, 24 year old woman was riding her bike to work when she was suddenly hit by an oncoming truck. Nearly two years later, a “San Francisco jury found the driver of the big-rig truck, Gilberto Alcantar, negligent for striking and killing Amelie.” Her family was awarded $4 million on January 15, 2015, as they worked with their attorney, Micha Liberty. Micha, along with the family, pushed to make streets safer. Micha and the Le Moullac household urged lawmakers to require commercial drivers to complete additional training when sharing the road with other, smaller vehicles.
The driver was not originally cited the morning he struck Amelie with the truck. Video evidence was later found and submitted to investigators by a San Francisco (SF) Bicycle Coalition supporter. The SF Bicycle Coalition expressed how concerned they were when charges were not filed by the DA’s Office. No criminal charges were brought against Alcantar; her family’s final attempt at justice was to file a lawsuit.
Following Amelie’s death, San Francisco and their Bicycle Coalition seem to agree that dangerous situations like this can arise far too often, especially in major cities. With continual improvements in city planning, safety measures and increasingly systematic investigations, cities everywhere can decrease and hopefully eliminate traffic collisions.
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