USF student dies on I-75

A USF student died in a two-vehicle accident on Interstate 75 on Monday.

Shannon Mohammed died after a tractor-trailer ran into his car causing it to strike him while he was standing outside of it, a police report said. He was 21.

According to the report, Mohammed was stopped on the highway after a previous accident.

Mohammed, a USF Ambassador and former president of the Latin fraternity Lambda Theta Phi, was on his way back to Tampa from Orlando when the accident occurred at about 2:30 a.m, according to the report.

Mario Aguirre, Mohammed’s roommate and big brother in the fraternity, said Shannon called him to the scene after the accident. But by the time he arrived, the subsequent accident had already taken place.

“I was the last person he called,” Aguirre said. “I went over there thinking I was going to pick him up because I thought his car was unable to drive, but by the time I got to there, about 20 to 25 minutes later, there were ambulances and cops everywhere, and they wouldn’t let me approach the scene. A state trooper approached me, asked who I was and told me what happened.”

His younger sister, Amanda Mohammed said Shannon was in Orlando visiting family and friends.

“His birthday is this Saturday and he would have been 22, so he surprised (his family and friends) with a visit and we had dinner and then he went out with his friends for a late dinner,” she said.

Mohammed’s parents moved to the United States 13 years ago to give Amanda and Shannon a better opportunity for education and jobs.

“I thought it was funny. He was a president of a Latin fraternity when he isn’t Latin at all, but I met his brothers and they are amazing,” she said. “They are so supportive, and when we went to Tampa they were all gathered at the apartment waiting for us, and they talked about Shannon and how he loved the fraternity and they loved him.”

His fraternity brother, Marcus Jimenez, said Mohammed brought diversity and a different perspective to their fraternity.

“Before Shannon was a member, our fraternity was primarily Latin, but when he joined he brought his view with him and his way of looking at things that we didn’t really notice,” Jimenez said. “He was the kind of guy who liked hanging out and it amazed me how little things made his day.”

Julia Licorish, president of the USF Ambassadors, said he was part of the executive board as the director of organization advancement.

“His job was to market and recruit new ambassadors and he had lots of energy and he gave us the opportunity to bridge the gaps between Sarasota, St. Pete and Tampa campuses,” she said.

He was also highly involved in the social chair and overall, a great individual; I am still in shock and not grasping the idea that he’s not with us.”

Amanda said she doesn’t blame the tractor-trailer driver, James Ogburn from East Dublin, Georgia, for her brother’s death.

“Personally, I want to let him know it was an accident and I don’t know if he is blaming himself, but things happen for a reason and if it were me, I would be feeling so guilty,” she said.

There will be a memorial service on campus tonight in the Phyllis P. Marshall Center Ballroom at 7.