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Best Friend Remembers UC Davis Student Tris Yasay, Who Was Struck And Killed Biking To Class

DAVIS (CBS13) – The best friend of a UC Davis student who was struck and killed while riding her bicycle to class last week is speaking out about how painful the loss feels.

"She knew how much I cherished our friendship, and everything I would say to her she heard on a regular basis," said Irena Song.

Song is in agony over the sudden loss of her best friend Tris Yasay.

"She was the most perceptive person I've ever met," Song said.

Song showed us pictures of the pair together on campus.

Yasay was a 19-year-old sophomore at UC Davis, and Song described the plant science major and professional writing minor as wise beyond her years.

"She always found beauty in the little things," Song said. "She held no judgment ... there was not a single mean bone in her body."

A "ghost bike" memorial now stands at the busy intersection of Hutchinson Drive and Dairy Road where Yasay was hit and killed in a collision with a campus garbage truck on her way to a poetry class Wednesday morning.

"We just don't want this whole situation to go forgotten," Song said.

As police investigate the cause of the crash, Song is left feeling the unfair loss of her best friend's life.

"She was such a beautiful, powerful, gentle soul."

Students who set up the ghost bike memorial said they are hoping for a permanent memorial at the intersection as well.

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