Dr. Kamal Agarwal, a Howard University professor in the School of Business, has been identified as the faculty driver involved in a fatal crash in front of Cook Hall earlier this month, according to the School of Business.
Agarwal, 72, was driving his car at a high rate of speed on 6th Street NW and Fairmont on April 11 when he failed to negotiate the left turn, striking Howard freshman Mohamed Samura, according to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Samura, 18, died of his injuries on April 15.
At his home in Maryland less than two weeks after the crash, Agarwal, walking with a cane, declined to comment regarding his involvement in the fatal car crash due to the state of his health.
“Dr. Agarwal is home recovering from his injuries. However, we were very distressed to hear that Mohamed passed away as a result of the injuries he suffered,” School of Business Dean Dr. Anthony Wilbon said in an email to students.
Wilbon said that the School of Business held meetings with Samura’s business orientation team and close friends and with School of Business faculty and staff following the car crash and Samura’s death.
“The university offers its full support to everyone who was impacted by this tragedy and I encourage all of you (faculty, staff, and students) to seek the professional help you may need in this time of grief,” Wilbon said.
Agarwal, a Department of Information Systems & Decision Sciences professor, has taught at Howard for 23 years. According to his university profile, Agarwal specializes in information systems, network and internet security, and other related areas in information systems.
Howard University Office of Communications declined to comment on whether Agarwal would return to teach at the university upon his recovery and if there will be any changes to traffic signage around Cook Hall in light of the fatal car crash.
At this time, an MPD investigation on the fatal car crash remains ongoing, according to MPD and a lawyer representing Samura’s family.
Copy edited by Alana Matthew
