Uschenna Odi, a fourth-year honours student at Woodsworth College, was killed last Tuesday night on the Queensway in Mississauga.The circumstances surrounding the incident appear to be that of a street race between four or five cars, two of which zoomed up and surrounded Odi’s pickup truck, before clipping the back of the vehicle and causing it to careen into a street pole. Odi died instantly. Investigators agree that Odi was an innocent bystander who had been driving his friend’s truck and minding his own business when the accident occurred.
Odi was from Nigeria but had registered as a domestic student. He had transferred from Abia State University in 2002 and was specializing in zoology, physiology, and biology at U of T’s Woodsworth College. His death is the latest in a string of street racing-related deaths, which have prompted the Harper government to work on a bill to make street racing a federal offense.
The university’s community safety and counseling office is available to students who may need support in dealing with Odi’s death.
