UVA dean’s son dies after I-95 crash
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Tragedy has struck the dean of UVA’s school of Arts & Sciences as her 21-year-old son died Sunday night from injuries sustained in an automobile crash on Interstate 95 in Stafford County. According to a report in the Fredericksburg newspaper, 21-year-old Ian Woo Cumings, son of noted scholar and dean Meredith Jung-En Woo, died June 27 at Mary Washington Hospital. A rising fourth-year student at the University of Chicago, where his father chairs the history department, Cumings and a friend were heading home from Washington to Charlottesville, according to the University’s student newspaper, when Cumings, the driver, attempted to merge from a median back onto the highway.
My deepest condolences to this young mans family, how tragic…
From what I have read, this was mostly another rear view mirror catastrophe.
The driver probably saw the large truck in his right hand door rear view mirror as he attempted to get back onto the highway, but the mirrors clearly say “objects in mirror are closer than they appear”.
Sadly enough, it’s a common mistake made by many drivers.
except he was merging left from the right shoulder, according to state police, so he would have been (hopefully) using the left mirror. probably didnt check his blind spot after checking the mirror, still a common mistake.
OK, my bad! I thought I read somewhere he was on the left hand median. Or maybe I was reading backwards. :)
Okay…people? Is it really in anybody’s best interest to speculate about what he did wrong in his driving when nobody was even there to see it and it’s too late, and then make jokes on top of that about “my bad!” and “maybe I was reading backwards” when somebody’s son just prematurely died? At times like this “Gasbag” really earns his nickname because there’s no point to any of what he’s saying, other than wanting to hear himself talk and be a know it all. You have kids Gasbag. Put yourself in Ms. Woo’s place. Were that your daughter would you really want to see comments like yours? There’s a time and a place. This isn’t it.
Huh??? I don’t think the comments you’re so critical of were in bad taste at all. They weren’t making jokes or appearing unsympathetic about the event, just speculating about the causes. Personally, when I first read GSOE’s comment, I was trying to picture his scenario anyplace but in the U.K. or Australia because it appeared bass ackwards.
My deepest condolences and sympathy to Dean Woo and Dr. Cumings. It’s a staggering loss that defies emotional or intellectual comprehension. As a dad of two sons slightly older than Ian, it chills me.
May it serve as a reminder that when you see someone on the shoulder, right or left side, that you move out of the adjacent lane and give them room to re-enter.
FYI: As of July 1, the Virginia “move over” law is expanding. Drivers are now expected to move over for tow trucks and other vehicles that display flashing amber lights. The previous “move over” law required drivers to slow down and move over for police or rescue vehicles.
May this tragedy be a motivator to move over for all vehicles.
So very sorry for this tragedy for both families and hope and pray Shane Coughlan recovers completely.
If he learned to drive around here it would explain why it was impossible for him to miss getting into a huge accident. Sure, make a turn, if someone’s there they’ll just move out of the way, no need to check.
As the parent of a son who died suddenly eighteen months ago,and who knows what this really means,I am so deeply and terribly sorry for their family’s loss. May they find purpose for their lives and consolation from everyone they encounter, and a faith which supports them through it all.
Thoughts, prayers, and condolences to the family for their tragic loss. Life is so precious and it is unimaginable that such a young and hopeful life should be taken away.
Merge from a “median” on to a highway? The median is the middle strip, right?