Fatal Bicycle Crash Under Investigation in Arlington

ARLINGTON – Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Arlington Chief of Police Julie Flaherty have confirmed the investigation into a fatal bicycle crash that occurred yesterday in Arlington.

On May 5, 2020, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Arlington Police responded to the intersection of Appleton Street and Massachusetts Avenue for a report of a crash involving two bicyclists and a motor vehicle. Upon arrival, police located two bicyclists, a 32-year-old female and a 27-year-old male identified as Charles Proctor of Somerville. Arlington Rescue transported Mr. Proctor to Lahey Hospital where he subsequently died from injuries sustained in the crash. The female victim was also transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. 

The preliminary information suggests that the motor vehicle, a Hyundai Sonata, was traveling west on Massachusetts Avenue and that the bicyclists were traveling east on Massachusetts Avenue at the time of the crash. The driver of the vehicle, a 20-year-old Cambridge man, remained on scene. Two other passengers were in the vehicle at the time of the crash; they also remained on scene. The Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section will conduct the reconstruction of the crash.

Investigators subsequently located a loaded shotgun in the trunk of the vehicle. As a result, the driver was charged with possession of a loaded shotgun or rifle in the motor vehicle. The driver was licensed to possess the firearm; he will be summonsed to Cambridge District Court at a later date on that charge. 

This is an open and ongoing investigation being conducted by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Arlington Police and Massachusetts State Police CARS.