Streetsblog San Francisco

Mary Yonkers, 58, of San Mateo, was killed by a truck driver while riding her bicycle to work on Shoreway Road in Redwood City last week.

That stale description of her death belies the incredible impact she had on a countless number of people during her life. Not even her closest friends had grasped the breadth of that impact. During her daily routine of running, bicycling, and walking with her beloved dog, Moe, Mary got to know so many people that no single friend of hers realized how many other friends there were.

Yonkers was headed to work last Wednesday when the crash happened shortly before 8 a.m. as a truck driver was turning right onto Holly Street from southbound Shoreway Road, Redwood City police said. Sgt. Eric Stasiak said their investigation had concluded that Yonkers tried to pass the truck on the right, while she may also have been turning right, but was struck and killed, based on eyewitness accounts. The driver later claimed he was unaware he had hit her.

Ken Stecklein, Mary's roommate for over 20 years, said the response to her death made him realize how little he really knew about her in some ways. After 25 years, Stecklein said, "you'd think you know everything about a person. I found I knew very little about her. She'd come home and tell me about all these people, but it's amazing. Now, I walk on the streets and they see Moe, and the response is unbelievable. People are crying, and they're telling me these stories about her. One lady said she was 'an angel on earth.'"

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Note: We've posted an update and a profile of Mary Yonkers.

The driver of a dump truck who killed a bicyclist this morning in Redwood City has been located by investigators, but claimed he was not aware he hit the woman, and has not been arrested, Bay City News quoted police as saying.

Redwood City Police said the crash happened shortly before 8 a.m. as the driver, who was not identified, was turning onto Holly Street from southbound Shoreway Road. Earlier reports had the crash on Redwood Shores Parkway. According to the BCN report, "a woman on a bicycle tried to pass the truck as it turned, but she was struck and some part of the truck rolled over her, police said."

The bicyclist was identified by the San Mateo County Coroner's office as 58-year-old Mary Yonkers of San Mateo. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

BCN quoted police as saying a truck matching the description was located by witnesses at the Allied Waste San Carlos transfer station on Shoreway Road around 9 a.m.

Monica Devincenzi, the recycling outreach and sustainability manager for the South Bayside Waste Management Authority, confirmed the driver works for one of the agency's subcontractors. She described the vehicle as a transfer truck.

"It is a tragic incident and we're sorry that it happened. We hope that the investigation results in finding out exactly what happened," she said, adding that SBWMA contractors are required to undergo driver safety training but "they are generally handled by the companies the drivers work for."

Redwood City Police did not immediately return our phone calls seeking more information.

Updated 4:29 p.m.