A Malden man who veered onto a Cambridge sidewalk and killed bicyclist John Corcoran a little over two years ago was sentenced Thursday to a year in jail.
Junming Zhu, 28, pleaded guilty at Cambridge District Court in Medford to misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide in the Sept. 23, 2024, crash on Memorial Drive. District Court judge David Frank imposed a 2.5-year sentence, with one year to be served.
Zhu will not be able to drive a motor vehicle or have a driver’s license for 15 years, and is required to complete a highway safety course.
Frank dismissed a negligent driving charge and fined Zhu $100 on a marked-lanes violation.
The prosecution had proposed a 2.5-year sentence, the maximum, with 18 months to be served; the defense asked for two years of probation. Corcoran’s wife, brother, daughter and son each gave victim impact statements that implored the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
“There’s no question that what happened was an unequivocal tragedy,” Frank said during sentencing.
After the verdict was read, Zhu was given the opportunity to change his plea, which he declined through a translator.
Corcoran was riding his electric bicycle on the sidewalk near Boston University’s DeWolfe Boathouse in September 2024 when he was struck head-on by Zhu’s SUV. Corcoran was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and pronounced dead.
Swatting a bug
Zhu, who was driving home to Malden from the Micro Center computer store with a passenger, told state police he was focused on his GPS and distracted by a bug. He was swatting away the bug when his car hopped the curb.
According to assistant Middlesex district attorney Caroline Evans, Zhu was seen on the Boathouse’s surveillance video driving for another several feet, dragging remnants of Corcoran’s bike under his car. If this case was taken to trial, experts would attest that Zhu was driving 48 mph at the time of impact – 23 over the speed limit, Evans said.
Less than two months before the fatal crash, Zhu was involved in another serious crash. Melrose police found a white 2023 Mercedes GLB with front-end damage and airbag deployment at 288 Main St. at 1:47 a.m. Aug. 3, 2024, and learned it was registered to Zhu’s address. It had hit a parked BMW; no one was inside either vehicle. Police found Zhu about a half-mile away, walking toward Malden. He said he was coming from the Encore Casino. He initially denied driving, but then asked officers where his keys were.
Zhu’s impairment was not tested at the site of either crash. The incident was first reported by StreetsblogMass.
Family statements
Family members remembered Corcoran’s great love of biking, travel and his dog Juliet, who still waits by the stairs for his owner to come home. Corcoran’s son, Jack Corcoran, graduated in 2025 from Harvard, his father’s alma mater. He shared that he was looking forward to receiving the watch John’s father gave him upon his graduation in 1984.
“Giving him this watch was the first time my grandfather ever said ‘I love you’ to him,” he said. “I eagerly awaited what was supposed to be the sacred moment of passing on the torch. The special ‘I love you’ that was the most important one I’d ever hear. But when my mom was the one who had to pass the watch on to me, she couldn’t even choke out the words between her sobs.”
John’s daughter, Christine Corcoran, joining by Zoom, said the family hasn’t recovered from the crash. She called herself “an emotional orphan,” as her mom has spent years being her father’s advocate. Both children implored the judge to consider the maximum penalty for Zhu.
“Your Honor, when you’re deciding a defendant’s sentence, consider my wedding. Consider the birth of my children, who will only ever know their grandpa through stories,” Caroline said. “Consider the rest of my life, which has been stained by this tragedy.”
“Justice for John”
Corcoran’s brother, Philip Corcoran, a cardiovascular surgeon and Army veteran, also joining by video, recalled that Corcoran was taken to the hospital as an unidentified trauma patient. “He lived as John Hubert Corcoran. My brother died as John Doe. Trauma victim 17756,” he said.
Barbara Bower, Corcoran’s wife, said the family has suffered not only emotionally, but financially, as Corcoran was the breadwinner.
Many local cyclists and friends of Corcoran, wearing neon yellow safety vests and badges that said “Justice for John,” embraced her after the verdict was read.
“When a cyclist is traveling on the street, in a bike lane or on the path, their lives should be valued by society and this court,” Bower said. “This is an opportunity for the court to assure cyclists that their lives and well being matter, and that the drivers who injure them will face the fullest extent of law.”
