The man charged with killing 27-year-old Tam Tran GS in a May 2010 two-car accident was sentenced to a 5 1/2-year prison term this week, according to the Associated Press.
Jon Dow of Hampden, Maine, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and driving under the influence. The collision also killed Cinthya Nathalie Felix Perez, 26, who was a graduate student at Columbia.
While at Brown, Tran advocated for immigration reform and undocumented students' rights, helping to found the Brown Immigrant Rights Coalition. She also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement in 2007 in support of the DREAM Act, The Herald reported in May 2010. The act, which would have allowed undocumented children of immigrants a path to citizenship, was defeated last fall.
The Tam Tran Scholarship for Undocumented Youth was established in her honor a few months after her death to help undocumented high school seniors in Rhode Island attend four-year colleges.
Natalie Villacres is a senior staff writer for The Brown Daily Herald covering the University Hall beat. She previously covered activism for Metro News. Natalie is a sophomore from Queens, NY studying psychology and education.
