MIT Professor Dies of Injuries Sustained In Previously Unreported Crash On Memorial Drive
On Thursday, MIT issued a press release announcing that one of its professors, Thomas Rose, had died of injuries he’d sustained in an August 21 crash near the intersection of Memorial Drive and the Massachusetts Avenue bridge.
MIT’s press office described Rose as “an expert in ancient metallurgy” and “an enthusiastic and gracious friend who had recently started a promising research track at MIT.”
Jennie Lopez, the Director of Communications for the Cambridge Police Department, told StreetsblogMASS on Friday that “on August 21, at approximately 6:00 a.m., Massachusetts State Police, Cambridge Police, and Cambridge Fire responded to a crash involving a bicyclist (who has since been identified as Rose) and a motor vehicle on Memorial Drive at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue.”
Lopez also confirmed that because the crash occurred on Memorial Drive, a state highway, Massachusetts State Police and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office are in charge of the investigation.
State Police declined to answer any questions about the crash on Thursday afternoon. District Attorney Marian Ryan’s Office has not responded to multiple phone calls and emails from StreetsblogMASS about whether the the motor vehicle driver involved is still at large, or if they are facing any charges.
MIT’s press office initially described the crash as an “accident,” implying that nobody was to blame. Following an inquiry from StreetsblogMASS, the press office clarified that “our editorial team did not intend to imply anything about cause or culpability” and subsequently replaced the word “accident” with “crash” in their online press release.
In a statement, Cambridge Bicycle Safety said that “we are heartbroken by the death of Professor Thomas Rose… No one should lose their life while bicycling through our community.”
Cambridge Bicycle Safety noted that drivers have killed 4 other people walking or biking on Memorial Drive since 2014, including John Corcoran, who was killed nearly two years ago when Junming Zhu drove his Mercedes SUV off the roadway and onto the Paul Dudley White bike path, and Juzhen Feng, a 74-year-old killed by a pickup truck driver when she had been attempting to cross Memorial Drive on foot near Ames Street.
Cambridge Bicycle Safety has set up an online petition calling on the state agencies that control Memorial Drive “to make major, permanent safety improvements now.”
This news story will be updated if and when District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office responds to our inquiries.
This story was updated at 12:20 p.m. on Sept. 4 to add new details from the Cambridge Police Department.
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
