Sanjeev Joshi, a 23-year-old Sacramento State government student, passed away Nov. 23 in a one-car collision on U.S. Highway 1 in San Mateo County.

Three other individuals were in the car at the time of the crash and were taken to a nearby hospital, but Joshi was pronounced dead at the scene.

For about a week, Sac State was unaware of Joshi’s passing until Lauren Lombardo, a 19-year-old economics major who was enrolled in a class with Joshi, noticed his absence and was unable to get in contact with him.

Lombardo attempted to contact Joshi through texts and calls until she finally looked him up online, where she found an article relating to the accident. She immediately notified the university.

Joshi and Lombardo had become close friends while working together on a semester-long group project for their mass media and politics class.

“He was one of the best guys I’ve ever met,” Lombardo said. “He was sweet, caring and loving. He always made the time to get to know everyone.”

Joshua Green, the government professor who instructs the course, said it was a difficult day in class when he broke the news and it came as a shock to everyone.

“We had a moment of silence at the end of class in his memory,” Green said. “Anytime someone so young dies in such a tragic way, it’s something that sticks with professors and students alike for a long time. We will miss Sanjeev and the whole class is  thinking about him.”

This was Joshi’s first semester at Sac State since he transferred from Cal Poly where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.

Joshi was also a mentee in the Odyssey Program for government students, planned to attend law school after graduation and was an only child.

The Faculty Senate will hold a moment of silence for Joshi on Thursday.