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Texas Sorority Member, 20, Shot Dead In Road Rage Incident On New Year’s Eve While Driving Friends Home From Party

By Tara West

From the archive: published Jan 3, 2016, 10 years ago. Details may have changed since.

A 20-year-old University of North Texas sorority member was shot dead in a road rage incident on New Year’s Eve. The student, Sara Mutschlechner, was driving her friends home from a house party at around 2 a.m. local time when a black SUV pulled up next to her car. An argument ensued and the individuals in the SUV opened fire on Sara’s vehicle. The sorority member was shot in the head and her car plowed into an electrical pole. Mutschlechner was pronounced dead a few hours later.

The Daily Mail reports that a Zeta Tau Alpha sorority member from the University of North Texas was shot in the head during a road rage incident while driving her friends home after a New Year’s Eve party. Sara Mutschlechner, 20, was driving a group of friends home at around 2 a.m, following a New Year’s Eve house party when the group got into an argument with a group of people driving a black SUV. After words were exchanged, the people in the black SUV opened fire on Mutschlechner’s vehicle, ultimately shooting the girl in the head.

After Sara was struck with the bullet, the car she was driving plowed into an electric pole. Police were called to the scene and the sorority member was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support. A few hours later, Sara was pronounced dead. Sara Mutschlechner was a junior at the University of North Texas and was a devoted member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. Sorority members say that Sara was the chair of their philanthropy projects and beloved by all the women in the house.

The shooters are still on the loose but witnesses say that the black SUV was carrying “five or six African American males” and that two of the men were allegedly at the house party that Sara and her friends left just before the shooting. Police have not identified any of the shooters and are still investigating the case. Meanwhile, the national Zeta Tau Alpha sorority has issued a statement via Facebook that notes their prayers are with their University of North Texas chapter.

“Our thoughts are with the sisters, family and friends of Gamma Phi Chapter (University of North Texas ) member Sara Mutschlechner, who passed away in a tragic accident this weekend. ‘Each and every one of our lives at the Gamma Phi Chapter of ZTA has been touched by the spunky, selfless attitude of our beloved sister, Sara,’ said chapter president Jordan Roberts. ‘She is by far one of the most spirited, honest and fun-loving people I ever had the privilege to know. She will truly be missed.'”

The national Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity posted their condolences to their University of North Texas chapter on Facebook. (Image via Facebook)

Sara’s chapter also posted a heartfelt message to Sara on their Facebook page noting that Sara’s will be terribly missed.

“Thank you so much to everyone in our community for your support and prayers during this time. Sara was a beautiful person inside and out and this world is less bright without her. She was always kind and full of an energy that was infectious to those around her. She will be so terribly missed in our chapter, on UNT campus, and in this world.”

A friend of Sara pointed out that the student didn’t stop helping others even in her death. It was noted that Sara was an organ donor and that her passing will not be in vain as “so many lives will be saved because of her generosity.”

The sorority is also holding a fundraising campaign for the Mutschlechner family to help pay for funeral expenses and medical bills that resulted from the student’s tragic death. A candlelight vigil was held Saturday night in honor of the student who passed on at such a young age in the fatal road rage incident.

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