Two weeks after being struck by a car at Stanford University, 26-year-old Chinese scholar Yichao Wang died Friday, leaving behind a grieving family with huge medical bills. Wang, a visiting Ph.D student born in the northeast Chinese city of Harbin, was bicycling home on Feb. 3 to his Palo Alto apartment after a late night working at a civil and environmental engineering lab.
The California Highway Patrol has not released findings from its investigation. Wang's parents are devastated by the death of their only child. His retired father is battling cancer and heart disease. Neither parent speaks English. China's one-child law meant that all of their hopes were pinned on their bright son. His wife of three years, also 26, is a student in Singapore.
"He was the center of the family, pride and joy of his aged, ill parents, happiness of his wife, a smart young man with a bright future ahead," said volunteer Dan Cao. Over $1 million has been spent so far for his care at Stanford Hospital. Wang purchased a $300,000 health insurance policy with United HealthCare but the bills surpassed the limit. China does not insure citizens once they've left the country without a job there.
The Chinese Mutual Aid International Network, a local charity, has created a special fund: PayPal:donation@cmain.org, or send checks with "Wang, Yichao" in the memo line to CMAIN, 1172 Murphy Ave., Suite 237, San Jose, CA 95131.
