Irish student (21) killed in road collision while on US exchange trip

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the victim’s family

Mark Sands was in the US on an exchange trip when he died following a road collision. Photograph: GoFundMe
Mark Sands was in the US on an exchange trip when he died following a road collision. Photograph: GoFundMe

A 21-year-old Irish student has been killed following a road collision in the US.

Mark Sands, originally from Blackrock, Co Louth, was hit by a car in the early hours of Friday morning.

The third-year UCD student was on an exchange trip in Austin, Texas. He was in a critical condition following emergency brain surgery. He died on Monday morning.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help his family with expenses and has raised more than $24,370 (€21, 341).

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Mr Sands had travelled to the US to spend his third year of college at the University of Texas. He had been studying computer science at UCD. During his time in Texas, he was inducted into the "Iron Spikes," a philanthropic group affiliated with the college.*

A post on RIP.ie reads: “Mark Sands ...left this world gently and peacefully surrounded by his loving and heartbroken parents, Paddy and Ruth and sisters Laura and Aoife."

*This article was amended on the February 7th, 2019.