East Brunswick Woman, 24, Killed In Philadelphia Bike Accident

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — A young woman from East Brunswick was tragically killed Tuesday morning in Center City Philadelphia when she was hit by a garbage truck while riding her bike to work.

Emily Fredricks, 24, was hit by the truck before 8 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28. According to the Philadelphia Patch, Fredricks was riding near 11th and Spruce streets when a privately-owned garbage truck struck her at about 7:25 a.m. Both she and the truck were traveling west on Spruce Street when the truck turned right onto South 11th Street, striking Fredricks, police said. There is a bike lane on that street.

Fredricks taken to Jefferson Hospital and pronounced dead at 7:50 a.m., police said. Charges have not been filed and the driver has been cooperating with police.

Fredricks had moved to Philadelphia in May with a friend, and was pursuing her career as a pastry chef. She lived on the 700 block of South Street. She worked at Le Chéri, an upscale French bistro near Rittenhouse Square. She was pedaling her bike to work Tuesday morning when she was hit. Her parents bought her the foldable bike so she could carry it up and down her apartment stairs and not have to worry about a car in the city.

Fredricks grew up in East Brunswick and graduated from East Brunswick High School in 2011. She went to Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., and graduated with a B.A. in baking and pastry and a minor in psychology, according to this article about her death on Philly.com. She was known among her friends and at East Brunswick high school for her artwork.

“She always thought she wanted to be a doctor, but she’s very creative,” her mother, Laura Fredricks, told Philly.com. “She got burnt out by the academics and said she wanted to do something more creative, and decided to be a pastry chef.”

Before landing the Philadelphia job, Fredricks worked at Sagamore Resort in Lake George, N.Y., and the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla.,

Her death has turned into a movement among the Philadelphia bike-riding community for more protection for people riding bikes. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia held a vigil for Fredericks Wednesday morning at 11th and Spruce Streets. A group of about 100 activists formed a human barrier around the bike lane on Spruce Street to protect cyclists and highlight a need for better bike lane markings.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia made calls for the city to restripe several blocks of bike lanes before the end of the year and specifically mentioned Spruce Street.

“She was in a biking lane and she still got hit,” her father, Richard, said. “Hopefully this won’t be in vain.”

Besides her parents, Fredricks is survived by brothers Jack and Michael.

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