MIT 2010 alum killed in traffic accident
source:Facebook
Phyo Kyaw ’10, 23, was killed last night after he was struck by a truck while riding his bicycle at the intersection of Vassar St. and Massachusetts Ave.
At around 7:40 p.m., an oil tanker truck was turning from Mass. Ave. onto Vassar St. heading towards Main St. when it hit Kyaw. He was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A blue bicycle could be seen crushed under the truck’s wheels in a video report yesterday evening from Boston’s 7 News.
Kyaw graduated MIT in 2010 with a bachelor’s in chemical-biological engineering, Course 10B. He was from Yangon, in the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar.
According to the MIT News Office, Kyaw was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and involved in Camp Kesem, a summer program for children with a parent who has died of cancer. After graduating, he had worked as a research scientist at Cambridge-based Soane Labs.
“This death, so tragic and so close to home, touches and concerns our entire community,” said Chancellor Eric Grimson PhD ’80 in a statement. “Our thoughts go out to Phyo Kyaw’s family, friends, and classmates. We share their sense of loss and grief.”
An investigation into the crash is being led by the Middlesex District Attorney’s office, with help from Cambridge and MIT police. The truck driver was uninjured, according to 7 News. He has not been charged.
MIT community members who feel affected by this death are encouraged to contact Mental Health Services at 617-253-2916.