USU student dies in car accident heading back from Las Vegas
Mike De la O, a 24-year-old journalism major and recipient of a communication scholarship, died in a single-car accident Sunday afternoon south of Mesquite, Nev. on Interstate Highway 15.
De la O apparently fell asleep at the wheel of the 1988 Acura Integra he was driving, according to the accident report of Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Bruce Roper. The car drifted off the side of the road and rolled an undetermined number of times. De la O was pronounced dead at the scene.
He and passenger, 21-year-old Dwayne Finley – a senior majoring in business – were on their way back to Logan from Las Vegas. According to the report, both occupants were wearing their seat belts.
Finley suffered minor injuries such as “bumps and bruises,” Roper said.
Trooper Jeff Gourdan took a verbal statement from Finley stating he was asleep at the time of the accident and when he woke up, the car was upside down. According to the statement, Finley said they had not slept very much before starting home to Logan.
Presumably, a passerby stopped and called 911, Roper said.
A witness to the accident, Chuck Ebeling, an EMT from Castle Dale, Utah, said he arrived on the scene approximately 15 seconds after the accident. Upon arrival at the scene, he said, “the patient on the driver’s side of the vehicle had no pulse or respiration.” He observed small bumps and bruises on the left arm and head of Finley.
De la O was a fraternity brother of Finley at the Psi Sigma Phi multi-cultural fraternity at Utah State University.
He was smart, talented and a New Yorker in every sense of the name. De la O was a New Yorker who did three New York City internships last summer, said Ted Pease, head of the journalism and communication department.
“I came here from New York, too, as Michael did, so that works well with me. I liked him a lot. Just last week we were giving each other a little lip: His last name was the O and mine is the P’s. He pointed out that O comes before P in the alphabet. I liked him. He was fun to be around.” Pease said, “What strikes me in this tragic time after the terrorist attacks is that Michael De la O’s death is all the more stupid and senseless now. What a waste. We’ll miss him.”
John DeVilbiss, director of Media and Public Relations at USU, said Mike worked as an intern in the Media and Public Relations office for a semester and “fitted in very naturally.”
“What a great guy Mike was; he was so well-liked by all the colleagues. When I think of Mike, I think of that big smile of his. I think about his eagerness to jump in and help wherever he could. He was always so full of life. What a tremendous loss this is to all of us,” DeVilbiss said.
Mike Sweeney, associate professor in the journalism and communication department, was about ready to teach a class De la O was enrolled in when he was informed of the accident.
“My reactions were shock and disbelief. In fact, I questioned the student who told me about how he knew what he knew and whether he had spoken with a police officer to be sure,” Sweeney said.
Jason Robey, president of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, was a fellow classmate of De la O’s and had informed Sweeney of the tragedy minutes before class was to begin.
“My impressions of Michael were, I suppose, like everyone else’s. He was bright, opinionated, funny and maybe even a little hyperactive. He wasn’t afraid to offer comments to me, and always with a mile-wide grin. This made him fit right in with our faculty, whose backgrounds in professional journalism are full of acquaintances and friends with Michael’s personality. Sweeney said, “It would have been hard not to like him. His writing was sharp and his observational skills keen. He would have been a fine journalist or public relations practitioner.”
“Mike had a lasting impression on me as a typical Utah student, the type we in the business of mentoring young minds refer to as hard-working Mormons. He was taking my corporate communication class this fall, and typifies my philosophy that intellectual life is not a spectator sport. He was a full participant in a series of ongoing debates and discussions. We are going to miss him dearly,” Emanuel Nneji, professor of corporate communications said.
Those interested in finding more on the planned commemoration of Michael De la O can visit http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu. This is a communications department Web site with up-to-date information concerning the department.