Best friends mourn loss of Purdue student killed in crash
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) – Best friends are mourning the loss of a Purdue University student who died in car crash on Monday.
Anastasia Chapman, 23, was driving northbound on I-65 Monday, just north of State Road 10. Investigators said she failed to notice that traffic slowed ahead of her for a pothole repair. She then struck the back of a semi-trailer.
“I’m really thankful for the time we had together,” said Cami Hardman, Chapman’s best friend.
“We had just been on spring break together,” said Kay Zhou, Chapman’s friend. “So, I spent a whole seven days with her. I saw her Sunday as well. Then Monday night, she’s just not here anymore.”
Chapman was on her way to an interview in Chicago for a summer internship when the tragedy happened.
She was a junior in the interior design professional program. She was also a part of the Ann Tweedale Cooperative house.
“It looks like she’s just out to class. Her winter coat is just sitting there on her desk. Her books are in the corner. Her lunchbox is under her desk. It just looks like she is just coming to come back in a minute,” said Hardman.
Reality has been tough to grasp for those closest to Chapman.
“We know people will disappear and leave and things will happen. It’s really not until it happens to you that really understand what that means,” said Zhou.
However, if there’s one message her loved ones are spreading — it’s a picture is worth a thousand words.
“Take as many photos and videos of them as you can because we have a thousand together and it’s not enough,” said Hardman.
State police said Chapman was from Elkhart. Details on a memorial service were not immediately available.