Breaking: Homicide charge for driver in Bedford crash that killed Acton cyclist Tamar Vishlitzky

A year after Acton cyclist Tamar Vishlitzky was struck and killed as she walked her bike through a Bedford crosswalk, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office has charged driver Joshua Quimby with motor vehicle homicide. 

Quimby, 35, of Billerica, was charged Wednesday and is scheduled to be arraigned on August 15, district attorney’s office spokesperson Meghan Kelly told The Acton Bridge via text. 

Vishlitzky, 53, was walking her bicycle across Acton Road at the Reformatory Branch Trail at 3:36 p.m. on July 20, 2024, when she was struck by a Volkswagen GTI.

She received advanced life support from Bedford emergency services, and was later pronounced dead at Lahey Hospital in Burlington.

At the time of the crash, The Bridge reported, 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. 

An immediate threat was also filed with the Registry of Motor Vehicles, which would have allowed revocation of his license and/or right to drive. 

“The criminal complaint for the charge of motor vehicle homicide was issued today following a show cause hearing before a clerk magistrate to determine probable cause,” the district attorney’s office said in a joint statement issued with Bedford Police Chief John Fisher.

‘Sensitive and empathetic’

Vishlitzky’s obituary memorialized her as “sensitive and empathetic,” and someone who saw the beauty in the world.

The Israel-born immigrant came to the U.S. with her family at 14, attended the Massachusetts College of Art at 16, and later earned a master’s in painting from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

In her obituary, Vishlitzky was described as being “really happy to be so close to nature,” after her move to Acton. 

“She was a deeply sensitive person and her soul had the depths of the ocean. She created beauty in the world with her unique creativity and aesthetics,” the remembrance said. “She was also immensely empathetic and felt deeply the horrors and hardships of others in the world.”

Vishlitzky earned a master’s in social work from Boston University. She trained at Cambridge Hospital and the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, specializing in addressing trauma. 

After completing analytic training at the Massachusetts Institute of Psychoanalysis in 2021, she worked both in a Brookline office and from her home on Bedford Street. 

“Her sudden and violent demise came as she was beginning a new and exciting chapter — one she had finally entered into with more ease, confidence, wisdom and connection —  has left her family and community profoundly devastated, heartbroken, and aching with the chasm of her loss,” her obituary said.

Vishlitzky was survived by her mother, sister, and two daughters.

Celeste Katz Marston contributed reporting.

5:40 p.m.: This breaking story has been updated.