Fatally Injured Cyclist was 23-Year-Old BU Student

The cyclist who was fatally injured in a collision with a tractor-trailer truck on Commonwealth Avenue on Thursday morning has been identified. 

Christopher Weigl, 23, was struck by a 16-wheeler truck around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, in the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and St. Paul Street near the Agganis Arena. The truck had been making a right-hand turn onto St. Paul Street as Weigl traveled east on Comm. Ave. He was reportedly heading to class when the incident occured. The accident is still being investigated by the Boston Police Department. 

A Southborough, MA native and recent Skidmore College graudate, Weigl had been pursuing a master's degree in photojournalism at the Boston University College of Communication. He was already an accomplished photographer with a full porfolio website that demonstrated his love for photography. 

"Photography has the unique ability to tell the story of a moment in time that will never be relived," he wrote on his website's About Me page. "From the wedding day to a simple human interest story, the capture of emotion in a split-second is a truly powerful, almost magical, ability."

A fellow student, Sarah Ganzhorn, told BU Today Weigl was "a great guy."

“He was always smiling," she said. "He was just a really chill guy who never had anything negative to say about anything.”

BU President Robert A. Brown said in a letter to the BU community the school is troubled by the recent accidents involving university students near the BU campus. 

“We are very concerned about the dangers faced by members of our community who must navigate the streets on and near our campus, especially bicyclists and pedestrians,” Brown said. “As we identify ways in which education and changes in practice can reduce risks, we will take all necessary and possible steps to do so.”

Weigl's death is the second in three weeks near the BU campus, and the city's fifth bicycle death overall this year. On Nov. 13,  21-year-old Chung-Wei Yang, a BU student, was also killed in a bike accident in Allston.