(NECN: Eileen Curran, Boston) - A bike path outside MIT’s Stata Center is a sad reminder of the death of the visiting scientist who worked there and was killed while riding her bike in Boston.
Kanako Miura,36, of Japan worked in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab. Her friends tell us she wanted to be an astronaut.
Sadly, that dream will go unrealized.
Witnesses said a garbage truck struck Miora Sunday afternoon as she rode through the intersection of Beacon Street and Charlesgate West. Her mangled bike was found a half mile away from her body. It’s possible the driver didn’t know he hit anyone.
“It’s a calculated risk,” said one woman biking in the area.
She rides frequently through the city and takes precautions: she wears a helmut and safety vest, she does not wear earphones.
“I grew up in Germany where bike riding is very common,” she said. “I do feel Boston riders...they have their own set of rules.”
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Police are still investigating how this happened, the driver turned himself in to police and is cooperating with them. A memorial meanwhile grows at the scene to the woman who arrived at MIT this past fall.
“Our hearts go out to her friends and collegues at MIT, and especially the Miora family who must absorb this terrible loss from so far away,” MIT's President said in an email
Northeastern student Matt Manes says the danger to cyclists is real, but the solution lies with everyone.
"I think people on both sides, vehicles and bikes, need to be more aware of their surroundings and pay more attention,” he said.
