A 26-year-old filmmaker who was killed in a bicycle accident in Philadelphia earlier this month is being described by friends as “curious, fun-loving guy and a lover of films.” Vijay Mohan, who worked as the access manager at Philadelphia Community Access Media, which operates the city’s public access television network, was struck by a Buick Roadmaster around midnight May 9.
According to CBS3, Mohan was heading eastbound he reportedly suffered multiple fractures and a serious head injury. He was transported to Hahnemann Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Police said the driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene and was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Mohan was not wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, newsworks.com reported.
Mohan’s girlfriend, Maori Karmael Holmes, told NBC Philadelphia that he would be missed. “He was just a sweet, kind person. He took care of a lot of people. It’s an incredible loss, especially someone so young.”
He was a musician, screenwriter, activist and youth advocate and volunteered at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival and the BlackStar Film Festival, founded by Holmes. And he zigzagged between it all by way of bicycle, braving two-wheel excursions in all seasons. “All his friends rode bikes. It was a big part of his culture,” Holmes told newsworks.com.
Mohan spent the first 10 years of his life in Chicago. His family moved to Kentucky and Florida for short stints before moving to India when his father became ill. He completed one year of college there prior to attending Temple, where he earned a degree in film and media arts.
“He was one of the most culturally literate students I’ve ever had,” Temple assistant professor Rea Tajiri told newsworks.com. “Very earnest, very warm and he had the ability to make people feel really comfortable, and then he could ask the really tough questions.”
Tajiri said Mohan got over adversity at many life stages, yet he didn’t wear it self-righteously. “The years he was in the U.S. were rough. He grew up in some very rough neighborhoods,” said Tajiri, who became a friend and mentor after Mohan graduated. “For 26 years, he lived the life of someone who was 45. But he overcame it.”
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