A 20-year-old student at USF St. Petersburg died last week in a motorcycle accident on an on-ramp to Interstate 275 in north St. Petersburg.
Mason Storm Apple of Tampa, a student since 2013, was going north on the interstate entrance ramp from 118th Avenue N during the late hours of Oct. 14 or early Oct. 15 when he lost control, crashed into a concrete wall and fell onto the shoulder of the roadway below, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Bridge inspectors discovered his body and the motorcycle around 1:15 p.m. on Oct. 15.
In an email to students and faculty on Friday, Regional Chancellor Sophia Wisniewska said Apple was actively involved in the campus recreation department as part of the boathouse staff and resident DJ.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go out to Mason’s family and friends, and we wish them strength as they cope with this tremendous loss,” she said.
“He was a special guy,” Zac Oppenheim, assistant director of Student Life, said in the email. “Mason was honest and open, always willing to learn something new. He wanted to help, whether it was covering a shift at work or contributing in some other way. He often put others before himself; he was a true team player.”
Information from the Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Tribune was used in this report.
