UMD Student Dies Of Injuries After Being Hit By Car On Campus: Police

COLLEGE PARK, MD — A 22-year-old Clarksville resident attending the University of Maryland, College Park has died from injuries he suffered in a crash on campus last month.

Erik Mechtel was in the area of Campus Drive and Mowatt Lane around 5:40 p.m. Dec. 16 when he was hit by an SUV after the vehicle hit a median. The driver of the SUV remained at the scene of the crash.

Mechtel was hospitalized with serious injuries related to the crash then lapsed into a coma. He died Dec. 28.

The Howard County native was a senior at UMD, according to WTOP, and an undergraduate research assistant with the Joint Quantum Institute Hafezi Group, plus a researcher in the Space Power & Propulsion Lab in the university’s department of aerospace engineering. His first published piece of research was released in August 2023.