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The Dripby Brew Editors6:39 pmAug 31, 20210

City settles second lawsuit related to hit-and-run by DPW driver

Mother of the victim will be paid $55,000 to withdraw her wrongful death claim

Above: A 2016 photo of the intersection of Chester and Chase streets where the fatality occurred. (bikemore.net)

The city will pay $55,000 to the mother of a bicyclist struck by a Department of Public Works truck, supplementing the $100,000 already paid to the deceased man’s son and estate.

Ralph Myron Roane, 54, was killed on August 15, 2016, when the driver of a parked DPW utility truck started up and made a left-hand turn at an East Baltimore intersection, running over Roane, who had stopped his bike beside the truck.

The DPW employee, Angelo Laprade, left the scene of the crash and was later charged with several counts of negligence.

He was acquitted after he told a jury that he had not seen Roane, who was apparently bending over his bike, and was unaware that he had hit anyone.

He testified that he had been eating lunch with the windows up and the air conditioning on before he pulled forward and made his fateful turn.

Last May, the Board of Estimates awarded $100,000 to the victim’s son and estate to settle a wrongful death claim.

Tomorrow the board will pay a little over half that to his mother, Carolyn Roane, in return for the withdrawal of her lawsuit.

The crash had sparked criticism after police suggested it was the result of “pedestrian error” and did not at first charge Laprade for failure to return to the scene.

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