Billerica man arraigned in death of Acton cyclist
Accused of running down Tamar Vishlitzky in a Bedford crosswalk, Joshua Quimby, 35, pleaded not guilty to motor vehicle homicide.
The man accused of running down and killing Concordian Tamar Vishlitzky last summer as she walked her bicycle through a Bedford crosswalk was arraigned at Acton District Court on August 15 on charges of motor vehicle homicide.
Joshua Quimby, 35, of Billerica, pleaded not guilty. He was released on personal recognizance and ordered not to drive, Middlesex County District Attorney spokesperson Meghan Kelly said in a text message to The Acton Bridge.
Quimby’s next court date is September 23.
Vishlitzky, 53, had been cycling on the Reformatory Branch Trail on July 20, 2024. Around 3:36 p.m., she was walking her bicycle in the crosswalk across Acton Road when she was struck by a Volkswagen GTI.
Though Bedford emergency services provided advanced life support, she was pronounced dead at Lahey Hospital in Burlington.
At that time, the driver was cited for operating a vehicle with a suspended license, a crosswalk violation, and using an electronic device while operating a motor vehicle.
Vishlitzky was born in Israel and came to the U.S. with her family at 14. She attended the Massachusetts College of Art and the University of Colorado, Boulder, and later completed analytic training at the Massachusetts Institute of Psychoanalysis in 2021.
At the time of her death, she practiced both in a Brookline office and from her home on Bedford Street.
Vishlitzky’s obituary described her as “sensitive and empathetic” and said she was happy to have moved to Acton because she was “so close to nature.”
She was survived by her mother, sister, and two daughters.
