'His Future Had No Limits': Family, Coworkers Mourn Bicyclist Killed By Car In Arlington

ARLINGTON (CBS) – On Tuesday night around 6:30, 27-year-old Charlie Proctor of Somerville was out for a bike ride with his girlfriend, Alison. The couple was planning on moving in together on June 1.

Then, police say, a car traveling the opposite direction of the couple at the intersection of Appleton Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington struck them, killing Charlie and leaving Alison with minor injuries. The crash happened just three weeks before Charlie's 28th birthday.

"Hold your children tight," Proctor's mother Judith told WBZ. "COVID makes grieving with family, our friends and his friends impossible. But we will find ways to connect and share our love for this well adjusted, bright human that brought joy and love to all."

The 20-year-old Cambridge man driving the car that hit Proctor stopped at the scene, police said. Police discovered a loaded shotgun in his trunk, which he had a license to carry. He was charged with possession of a loaded gun in a motor vehicle, but has not yet been charged in the crash, which is still under investigation.

Charlie Proctor's family, friends, and coworkers say his most prominent quality was his love for adventure, and his desire to bring friends and family along with him wherever he went.

Proctor graduated from Tufts University in 2014, where he was a member of the sailing team. "I'm really torn up," his former teammate Alec Ruiz-Ramon told WBZ. "He made a difference in my life and so many others."

After graduating from Tufts, Proctor began working at Architectural Engineers, Inc. in Boston, a small company of only a few dozen employees. "He was a valued member of our team, and was recently licensed as a professional engineer, which was very important to him," his coworker Robin Greenleaf wrote in a company statement. "We identified him early on for not only his engineering skills, but his leadership abilities. At a young professional point in his career, he was highly respected by his co-workers, colleagues, and clients. His loss is a huge blow to our company, where his future had no limits."

Charlie Proctor's brother Thomas sent WBZ this tribute to his brother's life, which reads, in full:

Charlie was killed last night, just nineteen days before his twenty-eighth birthday. He was a kind, adventurous man who spread his joy and zest for life to everyone he knew.

Charlie loved the outdoors. Winters he could always be found in the mountains, backcountry skiing and ice climbing, and summers bicycling, climbing, and sailing. He spent his last birthday on mount Denali, climbing the Kasin ridge. Charlie loved sharing his passion with those he loved. He was always pushing us to push our own limits and exit our comfort zones. He was always encouraging, caring, and loving in his support. We have heard from countless friends of his telling of the adventures that he took them on that they never would have embarked on without his encouragement.

Charlie worked at Architectural Engineers, Inc. He had just achieved his Professional Engineer certification, and had worked on HVAC building designs on projects around the Boston area, including Logan airport the Tufts University library, and the Worcester tourist center.

Charlie was killed at the corner of Appleton Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, just ten minutes away from his home in Somerville. It is a busy, four way forked intersection. The only traffic control is four flashing yellow lights which did nothing to protect him as a driver turned left though the fork and hit him head on. We visited the scene of the crash this afternoon, where a resident told us that crashes at this intersection are a chronic problem.

The family hopes that effective traffic control can be installed at this intersection, so that no others need to suffer through the grief and terror that we have. He is survived by his parents, Ched and Judy Proctor, his brother Tom, sister-in law Sandra Voss, his girlfriend Alison Piasecki, and many cherished friends.