Hundreds of people gathered at Howard University on Monday to remember a student who died after he was hit by a car on campus last week. Officials told the student newspaper that a faculty member was behind the wheel.
Mohammad Samura, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, was hit at the intersection of Fairmont and Sixth streets NW at about 3:40 p.m. Thursday and died on Sunday, D.C. police and school officials said. He was 18.
“Tragedies like this don’t happen often, but when they do, it feels like everything has to stop,” student Folajinmi Awofeso said.
According to the initial investigation, the driver of a blue Audi sedan was headed north on Sixth Street “at a high rate of speed,” police said in a statement. The driver hit a parked car and kept going.
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“The vehicle failed to negotiate the left turn onto Fairmont Street, Northwest, where the vehicle mounted a curb and struck a man who was in or near a crosswalk,” police said.
Samura was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. The driver had minor injuries.
Police did not provide the driver's name and have not said if charges will be filed.
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“It happened on this campus, you know, so we have to stand together to pay respects to someone who is in our community,” student Noraa Maxey said.
At the moving memorial, flowers were left by the flagpole and students wiped away tears.
“It happened so close, like on this campus, and that part was just really hard to grasp for me,” student Alicia Hooks said.
The university said Samura was a computer information systems major who made the School of Business’ dean's list. He "demonstrated great skills as a member of the University’s award-winning ESports Team," a press release said.
“The university extends our profound condolences and prayers to his family, friends, classmates and instructors during this difficult time. May they find solace in the cherished moments shared with him,” university President Ben Vinson III said.
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Additional details about the crash were not provided.
“This is unbelievable, and it’s just in moments like these where we really have to … really take care of the people around us,” Awofeso said.
A representative for the university said counseling services are available to students and staff who need them.
Anyone with potentially relevant information on the crash is asked to contact D.C. police.
