On the evening of his 21st birthday, USF St. Petersburg student Jordan A. Schleimer was killed in a car accident.
Around 6:03 p.m. on Aug. 24, Schleimer was heading westbound on Bay Pines Boulevard near 95th Street at a high speed, according to Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office reports. Attempting to pass traffic, he steered onto the right shoulder of the road and part of the sidewalk, and lost control.
Schleimer, driving a 1999 Buick, was turned sideways. He careened across the center median and collided with a 2014 Toyota Prius heading eastbound. With Schleimer inside, the Buick stopped on top of a wall bordering the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center.
The driver of the Prius, Roberta L. Cycotte, 47, was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the police report said.
Schleimer, an economics major, was pronounced dead at the site of the accident.
News of Schleimer’s passing was met with the sadness of his friends and classmates.
“I shared rare moments with Jordan. Not enough to call him close, though enough to be touched by his spirit and his love for life,” said Mark Lombardi-Nelson, former USFSP student body president. “Those close are still mourning, as they should.”
Others shared their condolences on USFSP’s Facebook page, The Know-It-All’s Guide to Knowing It All.
“I met Jordan through a friend at the Tampa campus and he was so much fun to hang around with,” said Tony Franco, a USFSP student. “The world lost another great person. R.I.P.”
Deven Soondar, a political science major at USFSP, posted the Tampa Bay Times article about Schleimer’s accident, which generated the numerous responses of shock and sorrow.
“For those of you who knew him, Jordan Schleimer was a student and one of the nicest people to go [to USFSP],” Soondar said. “Unfortunately, he passed away yesterday evening on his 21st birthday. It’s crazy after just talking to him, he’s gone.”
Friends were received at the Brett Funeral Home at 4810 Central Ave. on Aug. 27. A funeral service followed on Aug. 28 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church.
