Wu said the 36-year-old will be remembered as a \u201cbright light\u201d and \u201cdedicated public servant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur hearts are with her family, friends, colleagues, and all whose lives she touched,\u201d Wu said in a statement. \u201cI am absolutely devastated by this unfathomable loss for our community and our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gag began working for Wu as a policy fellow when the latter was a city councilor and quickly became a \u201ctrusted colleague and partner,\u201d the mayor recalled in her statement. She led programs and improvements that \u201cmade our streets safer, our communities stronger, and our residents\u2019 daily lives better,\u201d Wu said. \u201cHer legacy will endure in the work she advanced across the city, and in the commitment of her colleagues, friends, and fellow advocates to carry it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crash occurred a short distance from Southwest Corridor Park. The driver stopped afterward, officials said. <\/p>\n
The circumstances of Thursday\u2019s crash were not immediately clear. Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said his office is investigating along with Boston police. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe investigation of Louisa\u2019s tragic death is underway and will be thorough and careful,\u201d Hayden said.<\/p>\n
The area of the crash has been a source of concern and frustration for cycling safety advocates in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know how dangerous Tremont Street is,\u201d said Tiffany Cogell, interim executive director of the Boston Cyclists Union, which has an office near the scene. She and others expressed both grief and anger.<\/p>\n
\u201cLouisa is such a loved and tight member of our community. For this to happen where it did just adds insult to injury.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tragedy also occurred during a time when some transit advocates have criticized Wu for stalling a number of street improvement projects they said would improve public safety. One such area that\u2019s been targeted for improvement is the busy intersection at Roxbury Crossing, a few blocks from the crash scene. <\/p>\n
Wu has said street safety remains a priority for her administration, and emphasized that work on many such infrastructure projects is ongoing.<\/p>\n
In 2025, there were 256 crashes in Boston that resulted in a cyclist being injured, according to the city\u2019s \u201cVision Zero\u201d database, which relies on data from Boston Emergency Medical Services. No fatalities were reported. Data on crashes involving cyclists in the city this year was not available.<\/p>\n
The cyclists union on Wednesday renewed its call for Wu to \u201cunpause the projects that will provide needed safety to prevent these deaths, which don\u2019t have to happen,\u201d Cogell said. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan, whose district includes Roxbury Crossing and who also chairs the chamber\u2019s planning, development, and transportation committee, demanded the city fast-track safety infrastructure in the wake of Gag\u2019s death Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot stand by and watch more fatalities happen on our streets,\u201d Durkan said.<\/p>\n
Gag was raised by civically engaged parents and was a graduate of Boston Latin School, friends and family said. Before joining the city in 2022, she worked for LivableStreets Alliance, a Boston-based nonprofit that pushes for increased safety, equity, and affordability, according to the group\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
Stacy Thompson hired her, at a time when the organization was small. They grew with it together and became fast friends, she said. Her spark was immediately apparent, Thompson said.<\/p>\n
Gag was the original author of the nonprofit\u2019s progress reports on \u201cVision Zero,\u201d a global movement that Boston committed to more than a decade ago, she said. The strategy is aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries by focusing on safe mobility for all road users. She was responsible for listing the names of people who had died as a result of crashes in the city, Thompson said through tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is unimaginably hard to add her name to that list,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Gag left advocacy to work at City Hall because she \u201cbelieved fundamentally in the civic duty of the city,\u201d she said. She desired to make real change \u2014 \u201cand she did,\u201d Thompson added. A big part of her work centered around expanding the bike-share program, Bluebikes, and encouraging more people to bike.<\/p>\n
And she was effective everywhere she went, capable of gaining trust among advocates, community members, and people in positions of power, Thompson said. People could tell that she cared, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just a job for her,\u201d said Thompson, who added that Gag\u2019s contributions \u201ccannot be summed up in one single accomplishment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are streets you cross that are safer because of Louisa,\u201d she said. \u201cShe is in the fabric of the city. The only thing we can do, which she would want us to do, is to move forward and to move faster.\u201d <\/p>\n
Galen Mook, executive director of MassBike, collaborated with Gag for more than a decade on efforts to improve the safety of roadways in Boston, calling her a \u201cchampion of the work.\u201d She showed up to everything \u2014 from celebrations to hard conversations \u2014 and always did so \u201cwith a smile,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe comes from a vision and a mission of generations worth of change in the city,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a reaffirmation of the need to continue the work and redouble the efforts to push it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause this is a preventable tragedy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Another bike safety advocate and friend of hers, Peter Cheung, said the community plans on holding a memorial for Gag after family and community members have a chance to grieve. For years, he has organized \u201cghost bike\u201d installations at the scene of cyclist fatalities to remember those killed.<\/p>\n
But \u201cthis is as close as it has hit to home, for everyone,\u201d Cheung said.<\/p>\n
Bryan Hecht can be reached at bryan.hecht@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him on Instagram @bhechtjournalism<\/a>. Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @shannonlarson98<\/a>. Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @nikigriswold<\/a>.<\/p>\n