PennDOT adds safety upgrades at Upper Darby intersection where former Swarthmore professor was killed
PennDOT is installing about $20,000 in safety improvements at a Delaware County intersection where a college math professor was killed while riding his bicycle six months ago.
Work was underway Thursday at West Providence Road and East Penn Pines Boulevard in Upper Darby, the site where Eduard "Teddy" Einstein was fatally struck by a car on Dec. 3, 2025, while riding home from the barber shop.
The upgrades include new stop and bicycle warning signs, post delineators, a buffered crosswalk and lane markings designed to slow traffic and improve visibility for drivers and cyclists.
PennDOT senior manager for traffic engineering & safety division, Sharang Malaviya, said there have been six crashes at the intersection since 2020, but Einstein's death was the most serious.
"We really heard the voices from the community and they indicated that, 'Hey, something really awful happened here and we need to do something to address this,'" Malaviya said. "So we listened and we're trying to meet their needs."
Malaviya described the upgrades as "quick-build improvements," but said Upper Darby Township is pursuing grants for more significant safety measures, including curb extensions that would widen sidewalks, shorten crosswalks and improve pedestrian visibility.
Einstein was a visiting assistant mathematics professor at Swarthmore College who finished his contract in August 2025. At the time of his death, he was seeking new academic positions.
His widow, Ruth Fahey, said she supports the changes, but believes additional safety measures are still needed.
"It's the bikes that should have priority on our roads," Fahey said. "There's very little awareness of the position of bikes on the road and their entitlement to use the street."
The crash is raising questions about Pennsylvania's laws. The Delaware County District Attorney's Office said the driver who struck Einstein was under the influence of marijuana and did not have a license.
Fahey is also calling for clearer standards for marijuana impairment in DUI cases, similar to the blood alcohol content threshold used for alcohol-related offenses.
"The DUI laws for alcohol have pretty much been well developed," Fahey said. "With marijuana, that's not the case."
While legislation has been proposed in Harrisburg, efforts to establish such standards have stalled for years. Some lawmakers are trying to push the bills forward.
In the meantime, Fahey said she wants Einstein to be remembered as a devoted husband and father to their two sons, ages 3 and 6. She added that he is the great, great grandson of renowned German physicist Albert Einstein.
"Teddy loved teaching," she said. "He really enjoyed seeing that spark of talent in people that he was teaching his branch of math to."
A celebration of life for Einstein will be held June 28 at Clark Park in West Philadelphia from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
