Former Amazon.com executive Joy Covey dies in bicycle accident

Joy Covey, a former executive with Amazon.com, died earlier this week when her bicycle collided with a truck in California's Silicon Valley, police said. She was 50. Covey, an outdoors enthusiast, died at the scene of Wednesday's accident on a road in the hills that run from San Francisco to San Jose, The New York Times reported Thursday. The police said a minivan apparently making deliveries for OnTrac shipping service was turning into a side road when the accident occurred, police said. "It appears the driver was making deliveries, but we're still working on our investigation," said Art Montiel, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. As Amazon's chief financial officer, Covey helped take the company public and advocated Amazon's plans to ignore Wall Street and invest for the future, the Times said. That concept was the foundation for Amazon's growth into a $61 billion retailing and entertainment giant. "It's a very sad day at Amazon," said Mary Osako, an Amazon spokeswoman. "Joy was a wonderful human being and treasured colleague, and we will miss her very much." Covey joined Amazon in late 1996 and left in 2000, as the dot-com balloon was deflating. She is survived by a son.