As a follow-up to my recent posts in which I argued that the media tends to
report bike/auto collisions in a manner that makes the cyclist appear to
have been doing something wrong, I submit the following article from the
same newspaper that published the last story I took issue with (See my
comments below):
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Cops: Bicyclist hit by dump truck in Bethpage dies
11:43 PM EDT, June 8, 2009
A bicyclist from Levittown died Monday after he was struck by a dump truck
while cycling in Bethpage, police said.

Joseph Masi, 22, of Celestial Lane, was riding a bicycle west on Central
Avenue at 2:45 p.m., police said, when he was struck by a 1986 Ford dump
truck at the intersection of Stewart Avenue.

Masi was transported by the Bethpage Fire Department to the Nassau
University Medical Center in East Meadow, where he was pronounced dead at 4
p.m., police said.

Alfred Regateiro of Bethpage, the operator of the truck, received no
summons, and Nassau detectives said there was no criminality involved in the
accident.-- BILL MASON

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Now THAT's fair reporting. "...after he was hit by a dump truck while
bicycling..." is a lot different than "after he was hit while trying to
cross in front of a dump truck." And "...when he was struck by a dump truck
at the intersection of Stewart Avenue" is a different story than "when he
attempted to cross Stewart Avenue while a dump truck was proceeding through
the intersection."

Good work, Newsday. Your reporters must have read my last editorial!