Police: Cyclist Killed on Beacon Street Near Kenmore Square

Photo via Cory Gardner on Twitter.

A woman was killed in an accident with a vehicle near Kenmore Square on Sunday afternoon, just days after the city released vital information and statistics about bike collisions in Boston, and how officials can use that data to make the roadways safer for those traveling on two wheels.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology officials identified the cyclist as Kanako Miura, 36, a visiting scientist at the school’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

According to Boston Police reports, around 3:30 p.m. Miura was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident at the intersection of Beacon Street and Charlesgate Road West. Police said the accident involved a motor vehicle.  On arrival, officers located the victim and said she was suffering from what appeared to be life threatening injuries. As a result of the injuries suffered in the accident, Miura died at the scene of the incident.

Police said Sunday night that the accident was still under investigation and that detectives from the department’s Accident Reconstruction Team were trying to determine what may have happened. According to initial reports, however, the accident may have been a hit and run. Police would not confirm that information when asked by a reporter.

MIT News reported that President L. Rafael Reif sent an email to the community late Sunday night that said: “Our hearts go out to her friends and colleagues at MIT, and especially the Miura family, who must absorb this terrible loss from so far away.”

The cyclist fatality comes just days after Mayor Tom Menino released a slew of data in collaboration with the city’s police, fire and Emergency Medical Service departments, outlining crash statistics and safety concerns on the streets of Boston. Called the Boston Cyclist Safety Report, officials recommended upgrades to bicycling infrastructure, increasing helmet usage, and implementing a mandatory helmet law, while continuing to educate both bikers and drivers through campaign initiatives and police enforcement, based on information gathered from the data.