pretty damn smart...

[Joe_W]

but not smart enough to wear seatbelts

Five UT students die in car crash
Group was traveling to med school convention in St. Louis

By Raven L. Hill
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, March 11, 2006

They were five friends who wanted to spend their lives saving others.

On Thursday, the five University of Texas students were killed in a car crash in southeastern Missouri while driving to an honors society convention in St. Louis.


The victims were Lan Nguyen, 21, of Sugar Land; Nikolaus O. Simeon, 20, of League City; Fan Sun, 18, of Spring; Stephanie A. Wilson, 20, of Houston; and Michael T. Woodward, 22, of Austin. According to the university, all but Wilson were seniors; she was a junior.

The crash occurred about 9 p.m. Thursday when a tractor-trailer collided with the Toyota Corolla being driven by Woodward as he tried to make a U-turn, according to a police report. Four of the students died at the scene. Simeon was taken to a hospital in Paragould, Ark., where he died. Troopers said none was wearing a seat belt.

All were members of Alpha Epsilon Delta, an honor society for pre-med students, which was hosting its national convention. The three women were officers in the university's chapter. Simeon was dating Wilson, the group's Web master; Woodward and Sun, the social coordinator, had planned to marry. Nguyen and Woodward had been accepted at medical schools.

University officials were saddened by the news.

"This is a deeply sad moment for the entire University of Texas family as we mourn the loss of our students," UT President William Powers said Friday. "We express our condolences to the families, friends and classmates of those who lost their lives yesterday."

Juan Gonzalez, vice president for student affairs, also extended condolences to the victims' families.

"The university community is deeply saddened by the news of this tragic accident that has taken the lives of some of our best and brightest students," he said.

Many members of the UT chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta, which has about 100 members, learned about the accident Friday afternoon as most were preparing for spring break.

"All the chapter members grieve for this great loss," said William Nethercut, the group's faculty adviser and a classics professor.

Justin Smith, the group's volunteer coordinator, described the victims as compassionate, recalling that Nguyen thought she had a natural talent for science. Smith said Woodward was a grad student who planned to defer admission to medical school for a year to train as an Air Force parajumper.

Rania Hanna, the honor society's treasurer, met most of the victims through Alpha Epsilon Delta. Two other officers had planned to make the 12-hour drive to St. Louis but could not attend for various reasons, she said.

Wilson's cousin, Paula-Sherie Allen, remembered her as a multifaceted woman, a devout Catholic who was beautiful, funny and creative. Her interests included animals and interior design.

"She loved her dog," Allen said. "She was literally well-liked by everyone who ever met her. She was a precious angel, and she was very, very sweet."

[TEX]

They also weren't bright enough to know that the route from UT to STL is NOT by way of Paragould, AR.


TEX

[DRED]

18 year old senior... gnarly...