Driver Responsible for Fatally Hitting John Corcoran ’84 Sentenced After Two Years

The driver charged with fatally hitting cyclist John H. Corcoran ’84 pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison Thursday, previously pleading not guilty to vehicular homicide and negligence.

The sentencing comes more than two years after 28-year-old Junming Zhu struck and killed Corcoran while he was biking near Boston University’s DeWolfe Boathouse. Prosecutors first sought charges against Zhu last March, and he initially pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide and negligence last July.

But the case has seen little movement in court since then — with a litany of rescheduled hearings and additional evidence being sought.

On Thursday, Zhu changed his plea and was charged with motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation and a marked lanes violation. A third misdemeanor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, was dismissed during Thursday’s hearing.

District Court Judge David E. Frank sentenced Zhu to one year of jail time followed by 18 months of probation. Frank imposed a 15-year suspension of Zhu’s driver’s license and ordered that he not operate a motor vehicle as terms of his probation.

The sentence is a substantial uptick from the recommendation of Zhu’s attorney, Joseph D. Eisenstadt, who suggested his client avoid jail time and be placed on probation with similar terms.

Frank’s sentence also falls below what prosecutors recommended. Assistant Middlesex District Attorney Caroline Evans recommended that Zhu face two and a half years of split jail time, with only a year suspended.

Thursday’s hearing marks the end of more than a year of legal proceedings, which Corcoran’s wife, Barbara Bower, said have continued to devastate her family having to repeatedly appear in court.

Bower asked the court to impose jail time as part of their sentencing, and to bring justice for her husband’s death more than two years ago.

“We beg you to have this defendant spend some time in jail,” Bower said. “Please throw us these throes of justice and let us heal,” she added.

Nearly 40 people, including some cyclists donning helmets and reflective vests, came to the hearing and stood in support of Corcoran and his family.

Zhu’s charges stem from a head-on collision with Corcoran, who was riding an e-bike when Zhu drove up the curb and struck him. Corcoran was thrown over the vehicle, and his bike and helmet were left in pieces, according to a police report.

Zhu initially told police that he had been distracted by a large insect in his car, causing him to lose control of the vehicle and striking Corcoran. Police found Zhu to be entirely at fault for the crash, and deemed his explanation unreasonable.

During the hearing, Evans presented evidence that she believes she could prove if the case went to trial including introducing expert testimony to show that Zhu was believed to be traveling 13 miles over the speed limit when he hit Corcoran.

Zhu agreed, through a translator, that Evans’ account of the crash, including the speed, was correct.

In the aftermath of Corcoran’s death, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation reduced speed limits and attempted to improve infrastructure on a stretch of Memorial Drive near the intersection — widening sidewalks and painting a bike crossing. The overpass near the intersection is also the focus of a Massachusetts Department of Transportation improvement project, weighing substantial safety improvements.

The collision with Corcoran was not the first serious car accident Zhu had been involved in. Just less than Two months before Corcoran’s death, Melrose Police officers found Zhu walking approximately half a mile away from two crashed vehicles — including a white Mercedes registered to Zhu’s address, according to a police report.

Zhu, when found by officers, told police he had come from the nearby Encore casino, and denied owning the car involved in the crash. Zhu then asked where the keys to his vehicle were, and officers asked if the keys were from a white Mercedes, and Zhu replied, “Yes.” Zhu received a misdemeanor citation for leaving the scene of a collision, according to the report.

The crash was mentioned during victim impact statements, but was inadmissible as evidence in Frank’s decision.

Corcoran is one of four cyclists who have died in bike accidents in Cambridge in the last two years.

In June 2024, 55-year-old Kim Staley was fatally struck by a box truck while biking at the intersection of DeWolfe and Mount Auburn Streets. Two weeks later, Minh-Thi Nguyen, an MIT graduate student, was hit and killed while cycling near Kendall Square. Corcoran’s death, in September 2024, was the third that year.

The city then went nearly two years without a fatal biking incident until last month. 37-year-old Thomas Rose, an MIT professor, was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Massachusetts Ave. and Memorial Drive during his morning commute. He died nearly two weeks later after sustaining serious injuries in the crash.

In the wake of bike deaths in the city, bike safety has emerged as one of the most important issues for Cambridge residents. The intersection where Corcoran was fatally hit has been a center of safety concerns from cyclists and local officials for years, as cyclists are forced to ride on the multi-use sidewalk in the absence of a dedicated bike lane.

Corcoran’s son, Jack B. Corcoran ’25, said that “everything that once brought joy now reminds us that he’s gone.”

“When the defendant killed my dad, your honor, truth is my family died with him,” Jack Corcoran said.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at ClaireMichal.154.