2 high school students killed in separate crashes

Students from two different area high schools have died in separate, unrelated vehicle accidents, authorities said.

Hoormazd Javidbakht, 17, a student at Olentangy Liberty High School, died on Friday of injuries he suffered just over two weeks earlier when he was hit by an SUV while he was improperly crossing a four-lane street in Powell, according to a Powell Police Department report.

On March 14 at about 7:45 p.m., about seven minutes after sunset, Javidbakht crossed Sawmill Parkway at Village Club Drive against a pedestrian no crossing signal when the SUV struck him, police reported. Javidbakht, was rushed to a local hospital.

The driver and two passengers in the SUV were not injured.

Javidbakht was on the roster for the Olentangy Liberty boys varsity track team for the 2022/2023 school year, according to the school’s athletics website. An email sent to parents by Olentangy Liberty Principal Mike Starner on Saturday, and posted on social media, said Javidbakht died on Friday and that he participated in track, cross country and choir at the school.

In a separate, unrelated incident, Westerville North High School student Cooper Nofal, 17, also died from injuries suffered in a minibike crash, according to an email sent to families from Principal Kurt Yancey on Sunday morning.

Nofal was riding a minibike when he collided with a Toyota in the intersection of Westerville Road and Paris Road in Westerville, according to Jeremy Blake, a spokesperson for the Franklin County Coroner’s Office.

Nofal was a junior at the high school, which was on spring break last week, according to the email. dking@dispatch.com @Danaeking