UT doctoral candidate killed in crash weeks before dissertation presentation
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Ryan Wallace was on his way to pick up his sister’s kids from school on Friday when he was killed in a crash on Highway 21 in Bastrop County.
According to his family, he was just weeks away from presenting his dissertation to become a doctor.
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Wallace, 33, was a doctoral candidate at the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin. He focused on how science is portrayed in the media and how researchers and journalists can work together to make it easier for the general public to understand.
“It just doesn’t make any sense to me,” said Kami Vinton, a UT doctoral candidate who knew Wallace. “It just seems really unfair…I think he really wanted to be the change he wanted to see.”
Wallace’s family shared a statement hoping people remember him for how special he was.
He was an excited new homeowner in Bastrop, a proud UT longhorn, and a nameless victim in this incident dubbed ‘passenger vehicle’ by many media outlets. Our family wants people to know my brother, Ryan Wallace, because to know him was to love him…he was one of the brightest minds and most shining personalities in any room.
Wallace family
UT Journalism Professor Kathleen McElroy said she worked with Wallace to create a science course that UT still offers students. She launched a GoFundMe to help Wallace’s family.
“He was so incredibly smart and insightful in so many subjects,” McElroy said. “He was also a very giving person… I think that we all would have enjoyed having him as a faculty member…he would have been a great instructor and researcher in journalism.”
Ryan Wallace, 33, pictured on the right, was killed in a crash on Highway 21 in Bastrop County. Ryan Wallace,, 33, pictured on the left Ryan Wallace, 33, pictured on the right Ryan Wallace, 33 Ryan Wallace, 33
Data from the Texas Department of Transportation shows there have been nearly 130 crashes since 2022 on the stretch of road where Wallace died.
People in the area have complained about it for years. TxDOT said in 2021 it added passing and turning lanes to help with safety, as well as more striping to make drivers more alert.
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TxDOT said it has not lowered the speed limit, telling KXAN a study found it’s appropriate.
UT’s Moody College of Communication said Wallace’s committee will still meet on April 8—the day he was set to defend his dissertation—to honor him.
The title of Wallace’s dissertation is: “CHANGING CLIMATES: EVOLVING REPORTING PRACTICES, PRIORITIES, AND AUDIENCE PERCEPTIONS REGARDING THE HUMAN-NATURE RELATIONSHIP.”
“In my mind, I’m going to think of him as Dr. Wallace because I think he earned it,” Vinton said.
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