toledoblade.com --

On the day Bluffton University students and supporters hoped to be attending their last funeral for a while, word came from Atlanta that freshman Zachary Arend had died about 6 a.m. yesterday.

Critically injured in the March 2 bus crash that killed four of his teammates on Bluffton's baseball team, the bus driver, and the driver's wife, the Oakwood, Ohio, native had been in the thoughts and prayers of the Paulding County community where he had grown up.

"Everyone was so hopeful for his recovery, and this has really been a tough blow for a lot of his friends," said Bill Shugars, superintendent of Paulding Exempted Village Schools. "Sometimes you kind of hope against hope, and it didn't happen. That's tough."

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Mr. Arend, who was thrown through the bus' windshield, had sustained head injuries, a lacerated liver, a collapsed lung, crushed sternum, broken ribs, and a broken pelvis.

"During this past week, people would ask you, 'How is he doing?' Everyone was just wanting him to get better," Mr. Shugars said. "He had a lot of friends. He was a very popular young man."

Through the school, his family issued a brief statement yesterday: "The parents of Zac Arend, Dana and Caroline, want everyone to know what a wonderful son Zachary was; he loved baseball. He loved being with his family and friends."

An oldest child, he had three younger sisters. His mother teaches first grade at Oakwood Elementary.

Zachary Arend

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Mr. Arend, 18, graduated last year from Paulding High School, where he also played basketball, Mr. Shugars said. He was in his first year at Bluffton University, where he was a pitcher on the baseball team.

Teammate Matt Perkins of Convoy, Ohio, said Mr. Arend was expected to pitch for the Beavers in Florida. He called Mr. Arend "a fun kid, a good kid."

"He was a joy to be around. I really enjoyed his company," said Mr. Perkins, a sophomore.

Tony Gerig, a 2006 graduate of Bluffton University and captain of last year's baseball team, said he played summer ball with Mr. Arend and remembered him as a quiet young man who worked hard. He had a lot of potential in baseball, Mr. Gerig said.

Mr. Arend was one of about 30 players on their way to Florida for spring games last week when the driver of their charter bus, Jerome Niemeyer of Columbus Grove, apparently mistook an exit lane for a regular lane on I-75 in Atlanta, hit an overpass railing at the top of the exit, and tumbled back onto the interstate below.

CNN LOOKS AT CRASH

The crash that claimed the lives of five Bluffton University
baseball players and their bus driver and his wife will be the subject of a television broadcast this weekend.

CNN’s Special Investigations Unit, which provides enterprise investigative reports on issues in the news, will present Fatal Journey.

The special report will re-create the tragic trip, as the bus
carrying members of the Bluffton team took a wrong turn
and plunged off an overpass onto I-75 in Atlanta, early in
the morning on March 2. The report also will look at what
went wrong, the history of similar accidents, and whether
the accident could have been prevented.

The program will be broadcast at 8 and 11 tonight and tomorrow night.

Mr. Niemeyer and his wife, Jean, were killed in the crash along with Bluffton students David Betts of Bryan, Scott Harmon and Tyler Williams, both of Lima, and Cody Holp of Arcanum, Ohio.

Funerals for all of the victims were held in their hometowns this week, including a memorial service last night for Mr. Betts at Bryan High School.

Zach Arend was remembered at Mr. Betts' memorial service.

"Our hearts and prayers are with him," David's father, John Betts, said at the beginning of his talk during David's funeral, which drew 1,000 people to the Bryan High School gymnasium.

In Atlanta, Tim Berta, a student assistant coach, remained in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital, where player William Grandlinard of Berne, Ind., was in fair condition. Player Kyle King of Dover, Ohio, was in fair condition at Atlanta Medical Center, while the team's coach, James Grandey, was in fair condition in the intensive care unit at Piedmont Hospital.

The coach's father, Jim Grandey, said his son was expected to be moved out of ICU soon, but despite his physical improvement, he was devastated by the loss of another of his players.

"These are his kids. He recruited each and every one of them. He's taking it hard, and I knew he would," Mr. Grandey said. "I know it's hard for him not being there for these kids and especially now that everybody but he and a couple of his players are back home and they're still in Atlanta. It's just so sad."

A memorial service for the victims is set for 7:30 p.m. Monday at Bluffton University's Founders Hall.

Contact Jennifer Feehan at:
jfeehan@theblade.com
or 419-353-5972.

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