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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A Brown University student died Tuesday morning after suffering significant injuries during a trip abroad, 12 News has learned.
In an email to the community, the university said John Owen Habib died “as a result of injuries suffered abroad during a tragic hiking accident days earlier.”
The university said Habib was a junior majoring in Chinese, philosophy and economics. Habib was part of “a wide variety” of student organizations, including the Brown Private Equity Club, the Brown/RISD Arab Society and the Chess Club. He was also fluent in Mandarin.
“John Owen will be fondly remembered by his loved ones and peers, and we recognize the impact his loss will have both in the Brown community and beyond,” the university said.
Habib, according to a GoFundMe page created by his brother, suffered a “catastrophic fall” earlier this month while hiking with friends in Morocco.
“Both his femurs, his spine, and his left ankle were all broken,” his brother wrote, adding that the 21-year-old underwent several surgeries and was in coma prior to his death.
Habib was “joy and curiosity personified,” according to his brother.
“He celebrated his friends, challenged and encouraged them to be better people; to dare more, to try harder, and to treat themselves and others with grace and respect,” he wrote. “He loved to laugh, was an exceptional chef, and an extraordinary conversationalist.”
The GoFundMe page was initially created to fund Habib’s medical evacuation to the United States, but will now be used to kickstart a foundation in his name. So far, it has raised more than $222,000.
The university said Habib was raised in Saunderstown and graduated from the Portsmouth Abbey School.
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