FORT WORTH - The medical community is mourning the loss of a well-known and well-traveled doctor.
Dr. Bejamin Siu was a pediatric cardiologist at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth. According to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner, the 51 year-old died Monday evening after falling from his bike while riding in a park in the 5100 block of Pamela Drive in southwest Fort Worth.
People who came to know Dr. Siu said his death comes as a shock and will be felt overseas.
"I’ve seen him interact here with his patients, but when he was in Ethiopia, he really seemed to be in his element," Scott Brown said. "He loves his patients."
Brown, Executive Vice President of Gladney Center for Adoption-Fort Worth, traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with Dr. Siu. The cardiologist led a team that trained doctors and consulted families in the region. Brown traveled to the country with Siu numerous times and said Siu’s death is a real loss for the community.
“He never let the personal side get past him," Brown said. "He was always there for the individual. It just goes to show what a genuine man [he] was.”
In a public medical examiner report, Siu’s cause of death was listed as “Anoxic Brain injury due to: complications from cervical vertebral fractures due to: fall from bicycle while riding in park.”
It is unclear whether or not Siu was wearing a helmet or any other safety gear at the time, but Brown says Siu rode his bike often. He would even commute to work on the bike, from time to time.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, in 2009, 630 people died as a result of injuries from bike crashes. More than 300,000 riders suffered injuries in the same year, according to recent data.
Siu leaves behind a wife and two children.
E-mail mmoore@wfaa.com
