Sophomore dies in Illinois car accident

Engineering sophomore Michael Sheahan - whom friends remember as intelligent and understanding - was killed in a car crash on Monday night.

Sheahan, 20, who is from Madison, Wis., died when his car collided with a dump truck in Caledonia, Ill., after Sheahan ran through a stop sign, according to the Boone County Sheriff's Office.

Joe Weinhoffer, an Engineering sophomore and Sheahan's roommate last year in Riepe College House, said Sheahan was "a brilliant, brilliant kid."

"He was the only person I knew coming out of freshman year with a 4.0," Weinhoffer said.

Outside of class, Sheahan was a member of the ultimate frisbee team and joined the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project last spring.

This summer, Sheahan worked at a bioengineering lab in Wisconsin to see if he liked the work, Weinhoffer said.

"He definitely was very adamant about finding what his true interests were and where he wanted to be," Weinhoffer added.

Weinhoffer said favorite memories of Sheahan include running up the 'Rocky' steps with him at the Philadelphia Museum of Art during New Student Orientation last year and their regular Mario Kart tournaments.

"During finals we'd both be studying, and [Sheahan] would look up and say, 'Joe, it's time for Mario Kart,'" Weinhoffer said. "And we'd both stop working instantly to play."

According to Matt Waller, a spokesman for the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life, Penn has been in contact with Sheahan's family, largely through the Chaplain's Office.

Waller added that there has also been outreach to the Engineering School, the ultimate frisbee team and Sheahan's former hallmates.

Rev. Charles Howard, the University Chaplain, said he spoke with Sheahan's mother on Tuesday about holding a memorial service on campus but has not yet received an answer from her. He said he expected to have more details about plans for a service by the end of the week.

Funeral services will be held at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 5701 Raymond Road in Madison, at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Howard encouraged anyone who knew Sheahan or is interested in talking about his death to go to Penn's Counseling and Psychological Services or to the Office of the Chaplain.

"I think we're all shocked and grieving," he said. "It's a testament to the University that in a school as large as ours, we still feel the passing of our members."

Weinhoffer said Sheahan will be greatly missed by friends.

"He was a wonderful guy, very intelligent, had a great sense of humor and was a wonderful friend," he said. "It's an incredible tragedy that he's gone because I truly think that he would have had a huge impact on the world."

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