A 20-year-old student from Brazil who was enrolled at Duke during the fall semester was killed in a traffic accident Sunday afternoon in New York state.
Luisa P. Sartori was a back-seat passenger in a rented Chrysler PT Cruiser that struck the back of another car that had stopped for traffic on the New York State Thruway near Cornwall, said New York State Police senior investigator Neil Moscato. The driver of the car in which Sartori was a passenger apparently looked down to check air-control devices just prior the accident, said Moscato, who added that alcohol was not a factor in the wreck.
Sartori, who was wearing a seat belt, was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died from her injuries about an hour after the 1:30 p.m. accident, Moscato said.
Sartori was close to completing her one semester at Duke as a visiting international student, said Margaret Riley, director of Duke's Global Education Office for Undergraduates.
Three other people in the car - -- including a Duke student and another visiting international student -- were treated at the hospital and released. No one in the other car required hospital care.
Moscato said the students apparently had driven to Vermont over the Thanksgiving holiday and were on their way back when the accident occurred. An investigation into the accident is still underway, he added.
Sartori had come to Duke to study biology. One her professors, Stuart Pimm, the Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, described Sartori as an engaging student, "someone who was clearly getting much from -- and contributing much to -- academic life at Duke."
"I knew Luisa well, for my class is a small one with only 12 students in it," Pimm said, "but more particularly, Luisa was from Brazil and much of my research is there. My class is mostly about international issues in conservation and Brazilian examples were central to many of my lectures. It was enormous fun to have her in the class and to have her enthusiastic participation in discussions, especially about her own country.
"We got to know Luisa very well -- she was a bright and engaging student with whom we could share our passion for her lovely and ecologically rich part of the world. My group and I are taking her loss particularly hard."
Ana Luiza Graneiro, a first-year student from Sartori's hometown of Rio de Janeiro, said in an email that she met Sartori on the first day of orientation.
"I was sitting with my parents on the grassy field next to the chapel, and this random Brazilian girl came and said, ‘I heard you guys speaking in Portuguese! Hi, I'm Luisa.'"
Graneiro said Sartori "always messaged me to go to the mall with her, always wanting to hang out. The Brazilian community here at Duke is close-knit. We go to dinners and lunches together with our Brazilian friends all the time."
Sartori, a student at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, also cared about the treatment of animals, Graneiro said. "She was studying zoology at school, and always stood up for all cases of animal cruelty she heard of," Graneiro said.
Two other Duke students from Brazil, Daniel Benzecry and Rebeca Benchimol, said in an e-mail message that even as a exchange student, Sartori "was able to, due to her exiting and charismatic personality, create a great circle of friends. Always seeking for adventure and new experiences, Luisa was a great fan of climbing, an animal enthusiast and a lover of Brazil, her home country. The great days that all of us spent with her will definitely stay forever in our memories."
Another Duke student described Sartori "as a caring and compassionate young woman who was eager to learn about American customs."
Counseling for Duke students is available by contacting CAPS, residential housing deans, advisers and coordinators, the Dean of Students office or Religious Life.
Prayers will be said at Duke Chapel's 11 a.m. service this Sunday for all those involved in the accident, said Dean of Duke Chapel Sam Wells.