We drove by the scene today earlier and what a tragedy. The dirty little secret of Concord and Acton is that our towns have become over run by cars and the roads are very dangerous to pedestrians and motorists alike. But the town government continues to issue more building permits to bring still more vehicles to our roads. Cambridge actually feels safer to walk or bike than Acton or Concord.

Route 2 is probably the most dangerous road in the state. Safety is not a priority of Mass Highway, they are focused on "car pushing" through our towns, dismissive of every car accident as "isolated" or "speed is not a factor" or "driver error". In reality the construction, speed limits and volumes of traffic are dangerously poor. There is no end in sight either.. Not as long as the denial continues by our towns and state government. Our prayers are with the family and all involved in this horrific accident.

I drove past this on my way to work, on my way home they were still there and I saw the stroller and bike. My heart broke for the families involved, If they need anything please make it known so we are able to help. You have to drive as careful as you can through these areas. Very sad news.

The dirty little secret has less to do with too many cars and more to do with people driving who should not be, and everyone (pedestrians and bikers and drivers) acting as if they are impervious to danger and that they own the road. If we all acted with a little more patience, self-awareness and courtesy, perhaps accidents like this would be less frequent.

NOTE: I am NOT specifying fault in this particular situation and have no perspective there. I wasn't there and there are 100's of reasons to explain why this happened. But to explain it based on building permits is ridiculous.

The building permit explanation is valid in my book. I lived in Los Angeles for nine years recently and that is really what happened and is happening there. They continue to build these multi multi family apartment buildings bringing more cars to already saturated streets! You should really try to get your city council to outlaw more housing!! And, I too am not saying this is what caused this accident but the saturation is real... don't become another L.A.

The reasons that accidents happen are many.Pedestrians need to be very aware that all drivers are not always going to see them-not always alert and often impaired by drugs,alcohol,medical issues.They are. Also self-absorbed.The speed is excessive almost all the time.
It is the old story the' meism' of the culture.We are all guilty of this,but we need to remember take the responsibity to drive safely .And for those walking don't make any assumptions about that driver heading your way-he may be a potential killer.
Those involved -it is very sad- in a split second lives are changed maybe forever.
Nancy Gould,Acton

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Police officials told us they are still investigating the exact cause of the accident. We'll provide an update as soon as we have one.