Crime & Safety

El Cerrito Woman Killed in Bike Collision in Oakland Last Week

By Bay City News

A 62-year-old El Cerrito woman has been identified as a bicyclist killed in a collision with a truck in Oakland last week, according to the Alameda County coroner's bureau.

Susan Watson was struck by a big-rig around 6:15 p.m. on Dec. 17 near Fifth and Market Streets. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the big-rig was uninjured and has been cooperative with investigators, police said.

It does not appear alcohol was a factor in the crash, police said. According to Watson's LinkedIn profile she worked at a biotechnology firm in South San Francisco and previously had worked at Genentech.

She is listed as attending the University of Edinburgh for her undergraduate studies. Chris Tran, an Oakland resident who regularly took a commuter ferry with Watson from Jack London Square to Oyster Point in South San Francisco, said she was an avid bicyclist who was concerned about bicycle safety.

Tran, an Oakland resident who has lived in the Bay Area for about four years, maintains a bicycling blog, "I Love Biking SF and OAK," and posted about the fatal crash. He wrote in his blog that Watson's death was "heartbreaking."

In a phone interview a week after the accident, he said he had built camaraderie with Watson in a special relationship one finds with fellow commuters even though he didn't know much about her personal life. He said they would wait for the ferry together and talk about bicycling and gear.

He noticed her absence the morning after hearing about the fatal accident in West Oakland and put the pieces together. Later that week, Tran went to the intersection where Watson was fatally struck and he said that "it was scary" with a lot of trucks driving on the mainly commercial route.

He said there is marked bike lane. He suggested improving the safety of the area by adding a protected bike lane. The bicycle community is hoping to put together a memorial for Watson, who was known for her well-lit bicycle and decorated helmet and other gear, Tran said.

He said in the New Year fellow bikers hope to hold a memorial ride for her. Anyone with information about the fatal collision is asked to call Oakland police Officer Paul Phillips at (510) 907-0367.


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