An Ohio State student, Ryan Williams, died Thursday night after a motor vehicle accident on Olentangy River Road.
Williams was a 23-year-old in engineering from New Albany, Ohio, and was part of the Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team.
The accident occurred just before 8:30 p.m., when Williams’ motorcycle collided with a Volkswagen Passat at the intersection of Olentangy River Road and state route 315 southbound access ramps, according to a Columbus Police report.
The driver of the Volkswagen, Dominique Limoli, 28, of Columbus, was driving southbound on Olentangy River Road south of West Third Avenue while Williams was heading northbound on the same road north of Goodale.
Limoli was uninjured, according to the report, and Williams was pronounced dead at the scene. Limoli is a graduate student at OSU studying integrated biomedical science.
Limoli did not immediately return The Lantern‘s calls.
Sage Wolfe, a first-year graduate student in mechanical engineering and friend of Williams, said he was surprised by the accident.
“I’m still kind of in shock about the whole situation. Ryan was a really charismatic guy and well-liked by everyone,” Wolfe said. “It’s a big loss for me and Ryan was a great friend of mine and it’s a big loss for our team.”
Wolfe is also a member of the Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team.
Wolfe said Ryan is typically a safe rider and wears the proper safety equipment.
A fellow motorcyclist, Wolfe said this accident was unfortunate, but knows this isn’t uncommon ground.
“It’s far and away the most common way motorcyclists die and it’s just really unfortunate,” Wolfe said. “I ride a motorcycle too, they’re dangerous and there’s just nothing you can do in that situation most of the time.”
Investigation by the Accident Investigation Unit is underway.
This is the 20th reported traffic fatality in Columbus in 2011, according to the report.
Williams will be remembered at OSU’s annual memorial service which celebrates the lives of OSU students who died during the school year, said Amy Murray, assistant director of media relations. The memorial service is usually held in May.
Thomas Bradley contributed to this story.