Ohio car accident claims life of student

College sophomore Zachary Walker died and three other U. students were hurt in the crash. The 19-year-old Philadelphia native was returning from a cross-country road trip on September 1 with friends when his car went out of control. It veered off the road and flipped several times in the median strip before coming to rest upright in the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 near Columbus, Ohio. Walker was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. College sophomores Josephine Gasiewski and Robert Meyer, who was driving the 1996 Chevy Tahoe at the time of the crash, sustained serious injuries. Engineering sophomore Harry Vartanian suffered minor physical injuries. Only Gasiewski was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, which authorities believe was speed-related. A funeral for Walker was held Monday night in Northeast Philadelphia. He was remembered by hundreds of friends and family members as "everyone's best friend." He left behind dozens of friends from Penn. "Whenever you were around Zack, you felt as though you were the most important person in the world," College sophomore Marc Siegel said. "Each and every one of us is a better person for having had the chance to know Zack. He brought out the best in all of us. "Whenever you'd talk to somebody who knew him, you could just see their eyes light up with pride." Another friend described Walker as both the peacekeeper and ringleader of their group of friends -- saying that his ability to read people let him know whether upset friends needed a joke or a shoulder on which to cry. "He cared so much about other people," the friend said. "He had such a good heart." Friends said Walker was very close to his family and that he called them almost every single day. He is survived by his parents, a 16-year-old sister and a 12-year-old brother. Walker came to Penn last year after graduating from St Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia in 1998. He was the recipient of the prestigious Mayor's Scholarship -- awarded to Philadelphia students for outstanding work both inside and outside of the classroom. In addition to the Mayor's Scholarship, Walker earned scholarships from the Arthur Ashe Foundation and the National Junior Tennis League, which he both played and coached for during summers. Walker and his friends spent about two weeks traveling across the country before the September 1 crash, visiting cities such as Chicago, Las Vegas and Denver and stopping at famous sites like the Grand Canyon and the Iowa cornfield from the movie Field of Dreams. They were on their way back to Philadelphia for the new school year on a clear day when witnesses say Meyer lost control of the vehicle while attempting to pass another car. The car went off the left side of the road, causing Meyer to lose control of the vehicle. The still out-of-control car returned to the roadway before once again going off the left side of the road onto the grassy median separating the eastbound and westbound lanes of the highway. The car flipped several times in the median before coming to rest upright, police said. From skidmarks on the road, the Ohio State Highway Patrol have determined that the car was traveling at 93 miles per hour in a 65 mile-per-hour zone. Meyers sustained a broken leg and a shattered knee. He was flown from the scene to Grant Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, where he is currently in good condition, according to hospital staff. Once he is released from the hospital, friends say he will be moved to the Chicago Rehabilitation Center, where he will require extensive physical therapy. Gasiewski, 20, who was riding in the front passenger seat at the time of the accident, also suffered serious injuries, including several fractures of her right arm. She was taken to Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center and released on September 5. Friends say it will take six months to a year for her to fully heal. Vartanian, 18, who was riding in the back of the car with Walker, was treated and released the day of the accident. A driver traveling westbound when the accident occurred called 911, alerting emergency officials. Three emergency squads, five state troopers and two separate fire departments all reported to the scene, Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Kay Perkins said. There were no alcohol or drugs involved in the accident, police said. According to Perkins, the crash was the fourth fatal car accident to occur within a 10-mile radius of this accident site on Interstate 70 within the last year. The first two accidents were also single car crashes and all four were speed-related.