A University of Oregon student riding a bicycle died after a collision with a vehicle Sunday, Jan. 25, in Eugene, police and a university spokesperson said.

Erick Munene Njue, 30, died after the collision, police said Monday.

A brief biography posted on the university’s website identified Njue as a doctoral student in special education and a former high school teacher in Kenya who received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nairobi in Kenya.

Officers responded at about 12:40 p.m. to a report of a bicycle-vehicle collision at 22nd Avenue and Patterson Street.

The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene. The Eugene Police Department’s Major Collision Investigation team also responded.

A UO spokesperson on Monday confirmed that the bicyclist attended the university and lived in university housing.

No citations were immediately issued to the driver, which is common for major collision investigations, police spokesperson Melinda McLaughlin said. 

Earlier this month, a 63-year-old man, Merle Dean Sheffield, died days after being struck by a vehicle Jan. 3 while riding a bicycle at Highway 99 and Side Street in northwest Eugene.

In 2024, the most recent year with comprehensive city data available, one bicyclist was killed in a vehicle-bicycle collision.

The city report said five bicyclists were killed over a three-year period from 2022 through 2024, up from one bicyclist killed in the three years from 2019 through 2021. Advocates have expressed alarm at a recent rise in traffic fatalities in Eugene.

McLaughlin said the police department’s data generally reflect the condition of the bicyclist at the time of the collision, so if a person dies from injuries later their death may not be counted in the fatality statistics.

In 2025, no bicyclist fatalities were recorded, McLaughlin said, despite the death of 21-year-old Elizabeth Cardenas, also a UO student, 10 days after being struck by a vehicle while riding a bicycle.

The police department recorded a total of 55 collisions involving bicycles last year, up from 37 the previous year, McLaughlin said.