Schools
'He Would Give You Hope': West Chester Mourns 21-Year-Old Student Killed Sunday
Friends described a rare individual. "Watching his actions inspired everyone around him to be kinder," his roommate wrote.
WEST CHESTER, PA — The West Chester University student killed in Sunday morning's tragedy has been identified as 21-year-old Garrett Nicholas.
Mourners gathered at a memorial for Nicholas Monday and Tuesday near the site of the accident, not far from the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house where he was a member.
"Garrett was my best friend and a one-of-a-kind person," his roommate, Jimmy Kane, wrote in a GoFundMe launched for the family on Tuesday. "It's so rare to find someone like him. He was just like the rest of the guys, but always different in the best ways."
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Kane said that he was one of more than 100 fraternity brothers that gathered at Paoli Hospital to support Nicholas Sunday. He touched many lives.
"Garrett was the kind of person who would give you hope, and watching his actions inspired everyone around him to be kinder," he added. "He played his role perfectly, showing all of us what it means to be a true, genuine friend."
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Nicholas was a native of Orefield in Lehigh County.
The incident occurred at around 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning on the 300 block of South High Street.
Nicholas was taken by Good Fellowship Ambulance to Paoli Hospital and died there several hours later police said.
The GoFundMe had raised nearly $70,000 from some 1,500 donors as of Tuesday morning.
Circumstances immediately leading up to the crash are not yet known. The university said Monday that they did not have "conclusive details."
"We are deeply saddened about this tragedy and know that this news will be hard for a number of those in our Golden Ram family," Jasmine Buxton, West Chester's vice president for student affairs, shared in a letter to the school community. "We grieve over the loss of our student with their family, friends, and everyone who knew them."
The driver who struck the student has been identified. It's not clear what criminal charges will be filed.
The West Chester Police crash reconstruction unit is investigating the incident.
If you have any information, contact contact Sgt. Gerry DiNunzio at 610-696-2700.
The University's counseling center is available for grieving students. Find more details on their website here.
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