First-year doctoral student dies near Vegas in car crash

Amir Lopatin, a first-year doctoral student in the School of Education, was killed in a car accident outside Las Vegas during spring break.

Lopatin, 28, died after his sport utility vehicle rolled over Thursday afternoon 20 miles north of Las Vegas on Highway 95, according to Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Angie Wolff.

Lopatin was driving a red Honda Passport "well over" the 70 mph speed limit when it drifted into the center divide, Wolff said. She said the vehicle then veered to the right and rolled off an embankment. Lopatin suffered massive head and upper torso injuries and died in a Las Vegas hospital trauma center, according to Clark County Coroner officials.

A male passenger in the SUV who was not wearing a seat belt was ejected 80 feet from the vehicle and was listed in critical condition at a Las Vegas hospital, Wolff said. The man was a friend from New York and was not affiliated with Stanford, university officials said.

Lopatin was a well-liked student and a familiar face at Hillel and the Kennedy Kosher Co-op, said Rabbi Mychal Copeland of Hillel at Stanford. "He had close relationships with many students and staff, and he will be greatly missed," Copeland said. "As the staff at Hillel, we offer our sympathy to all those who are mourning the parting of such a vibrant, young person who was taken from our midst so unexpectedly."

Rabbi Dov Greenberg of Chabad at Stanford Jewish Student Center said Lopatin was a frequent attendee at the group’s Friday night dinners and engaged other students in lively and respectful discussions.

"He was a person who everybody had nice things to say about," Greenberg said. “He was provocative in terms of asking interesting questions. At the same time, he was very respectful of other people’s opinions.”

Greenberg said Lopatin’s father died about eight months ago -- before his son had arrived at Stanford -- and that Lopatin seemed to lean on the university’s Jewish community for support. "Over the last few months, he became more involved,” Greenberg said. “He valued the sense of community and friendship."

A funeral for Lopatin was held Sunday in Englewood, N.J. A memorial service was held Monday at the Chabad House in Palo Alto.