When two uniformed cops arrived Wednesday at Mary O’Donnell’s door in Danville, Calif., she mentioned, she knew, having served for 31 years within the navy, what information they’d deliver. She had seen a video of her daughter’s crushed bicycle caught beneath a truck in Northwest Washington.
Washington
Woman fatally struck riding bicycle in Northwest Washington
Police mentioned a truck driver fatally struck 40-year-old Shawn O’Donnell early Wednesday in Northwest Washington.
Mary O’Donnell mentioned her daughter was on her standard bike journey to work on the State Division when she was killed.
The incident was reported at 8:09 a.m. at twenty first and I streets NW, close to George Washington College, police mentioned. The driving force of a Mack truck was touring southbound within the 900 block of twenty first Road NW, a one-way journey lane, and Shawn O’Donnell was touring southbound on the appropriate aspect of the truck, in line with police.
Police mentioned when the driving force of the truck started to show proper onto I Road NW, Shawn O’Donnell “tried to journey forward” and was struck by the entrance passenger aspect of the truck. She suffered essential accidents and was taken to a hospital, the place she was pronounced lifeless.
The driving force remained on the scene, mentioned Officer Hugh Carew, a D.C. police spokesman. It was not instantly clear whether or not the driving force would face prices.
Shawn O’Donnell grew up in Danville, a small city in Northern California, and attended the College of California at Berkeley, the place she was an avid rower, her mom mentioned.
She labored at Google earlier than leaving to “make a distinction” on the planet by means of service. As a refugee officer with the Division of Homeland Safety, Shawn O’Donnell devoted her time to working with refugees in search of asylum, her mom mentioned. She most not too long ago labored on the State Division as a International Service officer, drawing on her ardour for overseas languages, service and journey. She spoke Spanish, Arabic and Turkish.
Shawn O’Donnell celebrated her fortieth birthday on July 7 by summiting Mount Kilimanjaro as a part of her bucket listing, her mom mentioned. Mary O’Donnell mentioned the 2 of them, alongside her different daughter, Shannon O’Donnell, have been the “Three Musketeers” and beloved to journey the world collectively.
Her demise brings the variety of cyclists killed this 12 months within the District to at the least three, in line with metropolis information. Final week, 65-year-old Michael Gordon was killed in a crash within the Shaw neighborhood of Northwest.
Mary O’Donnell mentioned she’s going to miss her daughter’s handmade Mom’s Day playing cards. She was her dancing associate and “selfless lady,” she mentioned.
“The world misplaced out on Shawn as a result of she was a vivid gentle who had a lot extra to present and a lot extra to dwell,” she mentioned.