A fatal motorcycle accident occurred in De Anza College’s parking lot B on Sunday, Nov. 5, killing former De Anza student Harout Mekhdjian.

The accident occurred around 3 p.m. Mekhdjian was 21. The accident was witnessed by four of Mekhdjian’s friends.

Chris Barooni, another friend, told La Voz that Mekhdjian was riding back and forth in the parking lot, traveling at approximately 30 to 40 miles per hour. During one of his runs through the parking lot, Mekhdjian seemed unaware that he was driving toward a curb, witnesses said.

By the time Mekhdjian noticed, he squeezed the brakes, the brakes locked and he collided into the curb.

Mekhdjian was ejected forward and flipped over with the motorcycle landing on top of his body. La Voz has been unable to determine whether Mekhdjian was wearing a helmet at the time.

Foothill-De Anza Community College District police and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office did not return calls from La Voz. Reza Kazempour, Business Manager of La Voz, was at work in L-41 when he heard a loud noise in parking lot B. He arrived at the scene and immediately called campus police.

A security officer arrived and tried to speak to Mekhdjian, but he did not respond. “He tried to get up [but] he was out of it,” said Kazempour. Marisa Spatafore, De Anza’s Director of Marketing, Communications and Development, told La Voz that Mekhdjian died while being transported to Stanford Hospital.

He is believed to have died from internal bleeding. “Our condolences go out to his family,” said Spatafore. “Everyone thought it wasn’t that serious,” said Justin Dietrich, a friend of Mekhdjian’s and his family. His friends and family expected to see him with nothing more than broken bones.

Barooni said that the owner of the motorcycle is upset because he feels responsible for the death. Barooni has not been able to contact him since the accident.

Mekhdjian transferred to San Jose State University two quarters ago and was perusing a degree in business. He also worked as an intern for NASA Ames and was extensively involved with his church and Armenian community.

“You don’t know how much impact they have on you until they are gone,” said Dietrich.

(Editor’s note: The original version of this article incorrectly attributed comments to Leslie Casaje which have been deleted. The article also incorrectly stated that Mekhdjian was Iranian. He is of Armenian descent.)