‘Devoted’ SCSU Professor Succumbs To Injuries After Hit-And-Run Accident

NEW HAVEN, CT — A Southern Connecticut State University professor who was hospitalized after being struck by an e-bike earlier this month has died.

Michael Shea had been a long-time professor in the university’s English department.

Allison O'Leary, a spokesperson for SCSU, on Monday confirmed Shea’s passing. He died on Saturday, university officials said.

Interim SCSU President Sandy Bulmer issued a statement to the SCSU community about Shea’s passing due to the injuries he sustained in the accident.

“A longtime professor in Southern's English Department and Honors College, Mike was a dedicated colleague and friend whose warmth, humor, and generosity touched the lives of students and colleagues over decades,” Bulmer wrote, in the announcement. “His contributions to our university and the relationships he built over the years will remain an important part of our Southern community.”

The accident happened on Oct. 9 around 9:09 p.m. in the area of 827 Whalley Ave., which is the address for the Lyric Hall theater, according to New Haven police spokesman Officer Christian Bruckhart.

Shea was one of two pedestrians who were entering the marked crosswalk in front of the venue to cross Whalley Avenue.

According to police, motor vehicle traffic stops at a traffic signal for Whalley and West Rock avenues. Police said the operator of the e-bike was northbound on Whalley Avenue. The operator then passed vehicles stopped at the signal on the right and continued through the intersection, according to Bruckhart.

The e-bike operator then struck Shea in the marked crosswalk and fled the scene, according to police. Shea was rushed to Yale New Haven Hospital.

‘Most devoted teacher’

Tim Parrish, a colleague of Shea’s in SCSU’s English department, had worked with him for more than three decades.

“The world is infinitely poorer today as my exceptional friend and colleague of thirty-two years, Mike Shea, has died of injuries from a hit-and-run by an e-bike,” Parrish said, in a tribute posted Sunday on Facebook. “He went to the wall for students (it's impossible to say how much he's loved and how many lives he changed).”

Parrish described Shea as “fun,” and someone who loved people and a good prank.

“Mike was the most devoted teacher I've ever known, and I say this from a constellation of phenomenal teachers. He demanded the best from students, taught them to think and read and write, challenged them and himself, and wove pranks into the most serious and demanding subject matter,” Parrish wrote.

English Chair Cindy Stretch said, "For decades, Mike has been a walking, talking reminder of what’s best about this place: the way we teach, the way we ask questions, the way we care for one another. There was not a cynical bone in his body. Mike showed us what service to our students, to our colleagues, and to our university could be and why it matters. And he taught his students that there was nothing more exciting than learning to understand what they didn’t think they could. He will be so deeply missed by his friends and by the legions of students whose lives he touched."

Police said they are looking for the public’s assistance to identify the unknown e-bike rider. After the collision, the operator fled on Fountain Street toward Central Avenue. The suspect is described as a black male, in his teens to 20s, about 5 feet 7 inches tall, with a stocky build. He was wearing shorts over his pants, according to police.

Anyone with information on the operator of the e-bike is asked to contact New Haven police at 203-946-6304, or anonymous tips can be submitted at 1-866-888-TIPS(8477).

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E-Bike Operator Sought After Striking, Seriously Injuring SCSU Professor