Dump truck collision did not kill visiting Israeli professor

Israeli professor Shlomo Bentin did not die because he was hit by a dump truck while riding on his bicycle on July 13, according to new details released today by the Berkeley Police Department. Instead, the dump truck passed so close to Bentin that he may have taken evasive action that inadvertently propelled him over the handlebars of his bike, where he struck his head on the sidewalk, according to police. Bentin was riding his bicycle westbound on Bancroft Avenue near Fulton around 3:38 p.m., and was riding in the right lane close to a line of parked cars, as the law requires, according to Capt. Andrew Greenwood of the Berkeley Police Department. A dump truck traveling in the same direction passed Bentin but did not strike him, according to an investigation by the Fatal Accident Investigation Team. But the dump truck may have passed so close to Bentin that he startled and jerked his bike, said Greenwood. Or he may have braked hard. While police could not determine the cause, Bentin flipped over the handlebars of his bike and struck his head and shoulders on the pavement. Police said in July that he was wearing a helmet. Bentin was […]