By Zac Estrada, News Staff

Northeastern students and faculty remember recent graduate Andy Prior as a remarkable man who went out of his way to help others, from fellow sign language interpreters to deaf children and students.

The 23-year-old American Sign Language/English Interpretation major, who graduated in May with a Bachelor of Arts degree, was struck by an SUV at around 11:45 p.m. Sunday on Tremont Street near the Roxbury Crossing T Station in Roxbury while riding his Vespa scooter.

The driver of the unidentified vehicle fled the scene. Mr. Prior later died at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Professor Dennis Cokely, director of Northeastern’s ASL program, heard of Mr. Prior’s death Monday after police contacted the university when they found Mr. Prior’s Husky Card ID.

“He was a just a terrific kid,” Cokely said. “He made a huge impact on the people in his cohort but also the students still in the program.”

Members of the Interpreting Club of Northeastern University (ICNU) gathered yesterday at an informal meeting, sharing memories mixed with humorous stories about Mr. Prior, choking back tears at times.

Anecdotes ranged from how Mr. Prior made an effort to reach out to many different people, to how he had an energetic personality. One woman remarked light-heartedly that he was “really well-dressed.”

“He was a mentor for me,” ICNU President Andrew Russo said. “He really touched my life.”

Russo and Mr. Prior completed a spring 2009 co-op together in the ASL office at Northeastern. He said their friendship was strengthened during the time spent there.

“We would take as many cigarette breaks as possible and just talk,” Russo said. “That’s when we really bonded.”

Mr. Prior completed two co-ops in the ASL office. He also served a term as treasurer for ICNU.

Wendy Watson, a part-time ASL faculty member, said the group of roughly 20 people who talked about Mr. Prior yesterday was a sign of how close the students in the program are to each other.

“It’s a remarkable thing,” she said. “Other departments wouldn’t be having this experience. I think one thing Andy would want us to get out of this is our connection.”

Cokely said Mr. Prior was on his way home from interpreting for a play rehearsal at the Huntington Theatre when the accident happened.

Last summer, Mr. Prior worked at Camp Joy, a Boston program for children with special needs. Ruth Wilcox, a Northeastern student and Camp Joy supervisor, brought two videos of Mr. Prior interpreting a musical performance at the camp to the ICNU meeting.

“To me, he was the kind of person who attracted people with his personality,” she said.

Cokely said although he was from Syracuse, N.Y., Mr. Prior “decided he was going to make Boston his home.”

He said he saw Mr. Prior two weeks ago, just before another exam to earn certification as an instructor in Massachusetts.

Cokely recalled meeting Mr. Prior, then a psychology student, when he took an ASL class to fulfill a language requirement.

“He just got hooked,” Cokely said. “That’s when he switched his major. He had a really good head on his shoulders and a really, really good disposition.”

Mr. Prior, the youngest of three children, is survived by his parents, David and Rosemarie of Syracuse, brother John and his wife Jill, and brother Mark and wife Christine, among other family members.

“We’d like to thank Northeastern for their support,” Jill Prior said, representing the Prior family. “We know it would mean a lot to Andrew.”

Russo said Mr. Prior, who was openly gay and had been for several years, reached out especially to other men, some of whom were still insecure with their homosexuality.

“Andy was really comfortable with himself,” Russo said, saying the two would sometimes mentor young men who had recently come out.

“That was Andy,” he said. “He was always helping people.”

The Boston Police Department is still looking for information about the person who killed Mr. Prior. The driver is believed to have been inside a gray Hyundai Santa Fe. Anyone with information is asked to contact authorities at (617) 343-4470, or anonymously at 1-800-494-TIPS.

A funeral service for Mr. Prior is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at Blessed Sacrament Church in Syracuse, followed by a burial.

ICNU students will hold a remembrance gathering at 7 p.m. next Tuesday at The Savant Project bar at 1625 Tremont St.

In lieu of flowers, the Prior family asks that donations be made to Northeastern’s ASL Program.