Last Friday (June 21st), a fatal car accident occurred in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A woman riding a bicycle was struck and killed by a truck. The identity of the victim has been confirmed as a young Asian woman, a promising doctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her tragic death has once again sparked discussions on bicycle safety in Cambridge.
According to reports from CBS News and Fox News Boston on June 25th, the authorities identified the victim as 24-year-old Minh-Thi Nguyen. Last Friday morning, as she was cycling through the intersection of Hampshire and Portland Streets, a truck making a right turn onto Portland Street collided with her bicycle. The girl was then taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The truck driver remained at the scene following the incident.
Nguyen was a doctoral student at MIT.
Learning that the victim was a 24-year-old MIT doctoral student with a promising future is truly heart-wrenching,” said Christopher Cassa, a volunteer with the Cambridge Bicycle Safety Group.
The authorities mentioned that the investigation into the accident is still ongoing and it remains unclear whether the truck driver will face any charges.
“We must do everything in our power to ensure that such tragedies do not happen again,” stated Mark McGovern, the Deputy Mayor of Cambridge.
“This is truly heartbreaking,” continued McGovern, mentioning the decreasing number of cars in the city while the popularity of cycling is on the rise. He pointed out that the infrastructure changes may not be sufficient to make a significant impact.
Hudson Loughlin, a friend of Nguyen, expressed disbelief at the tragic loss of such a young and vibrant individual.
Nguyen was a researcher with the National Science Foundation and was pursuing a Ph.D. in atomic, molecular, and optical physics at MIT. She was one of the most outstanding students in the country, and her friends and family believe that her life had just begun to unfold.
“Under Minh-Thi’s guidance, I have had some of the best experiences of my life in this city,” said Nguyen’s boyfriend, Nick Krasnow. “She always had marvelous and daring ideas, but she had the skill to turn them into reality.”
Flowers were laid at the intersection where Nguyen tragically lost her life. Her death has deeply saddened the cycling community in Cambridge, who are urging the local government to take more measures to protect cyclists.
“We have a diverse range of people using our roads in various ways, and they aren’t necessarily built for such diverse uses,” McGovern remarked. “We need to slow down and pay more attention.”
On Monday, bicycles lined the sidewalk in front of Cambridge City Hall. The community gathered for a ceremony, part vigil and part call to action, urging the city government to improve bicycle safety at intersections and expand the network of bike lanes.
Following the candlelight vigil, the Cambridge City Council added an agenda item on “Truck and Intersection Safety Improvements” to their meeting. Council members outlined a series of conditions, requesting a report from the city manager by September.