The family of Barbara Friedes has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the drunk driver that fatally struck her as she was bicycling on Spruce Street in Center City two years ago.
The suit, filed Monday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, seeks more than $50,000 in damages from Michael Vahey, 70, who was sentenced to six to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and related charges last year.
Friedes was a 30-year-old physician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Her death has been a focal point of cycling advocates seeking better bike lane protections in Philadelphia, including calls for concrete barriers separating cyclists from drivers on Spruce and Pine streets in Center City…