VSE PhD student killed in cycling accident downtown Wednesday morning

A Vancouver School of Economics (VSE) PhD student died in a cycling accident on Wednesday morning.

Agustín Beltrán was cycling in downtown Vancouver when the accident occurred, Dr. Patrick Francois, director of the VSE, said in a statement posted Thursday afternoon.

“We are shocked and devastated over Agustín’s death. This is a tremendous loss for the UBC community and our tight-knit PhD program. We extend our deepest sympathies to Agustín’s family, friends, and peers. We share in their grief today, and in the days to come,” the director wrote.

Francois added that UBC has reached out to the program’s students for support and that counselling services are available for those impacted.

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) is investigating the crash. Francois encouraged anyone with information to reach out to the VPD collision investigation unit at 604.717.3012.

The Ubyssey reached out to UBC and the VPD for a comment, but did not hear back before publishing time.

UBC community members shared their memories of Beltrán and sent their condolences to his family online. A memorial with flowers and notes has also been set up at the street corner where the accident took place.

This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is made available.