Alexander Capelluto

The state of everyday cycling is still abysmal in the US. "Unlike most countries, the vast majority of bikes sold in the United States are used for recreation rather than transportation. About 550,000 Americans -- less than 1 percent of U.S. workers -- bike to work regularly... 'For a lot of people, it's intimidating and you don't feel safe.'" But gas prices ($3.50 per gallon) are starting to change things. "The $286 billion federal transportation bill signed last year will double the amount of money available for bike and pedestrian facilities to about $4 billion. Federal legislation introduced in the Senate last month would offer employers a tax incentive to help cover the cost of riding to work."

Try telling that to Alexander Capelluto, Berkeley '08, who was killed by a 10-wheel truck while biking back from the boathouse on Thursday. The second Yalie in twelve months to die in a biking accident, and the second also to be involved with the Habitat for Humanity ride across the country. You know there's something wrong with a nation when people doing something as simple as biking to raise money for new homes for the needy are endangering their lives.

I was following a freighter truck when my accident happened. If things had gone just a little differently, I could have been the second fatality. Who decides these things? Why Alexander?

Strangely, reading WTNH's article brings to light how Yale-centric the YDN article is. Well, obviously. But there's something upsetting about that disparity too.