Services set for FGCU student killed in crash
A fatal crash involving a Cape Coral driver and a 20-year-old remains under investigation.
At about 12:10 p.m. Tuesday, Ryan Christopher Wendler, of Gainesville, was stopped at a red light in the northbound center lane of Michael G. Rippe Parkway at Briarcliff Road. The Florida Highway Patrol reported that a Mack truck traveling northbound on Michael G. Rippe approached from behind.
The driver of the truck, Donald Kottkamp, 75, of 317 N.E. 19th Ave., failed to stop.
According to the FHP, the front of the truck struck the rear of the Nissan that Wendler was driving. The vehicle became partly lodged beneath the front of the Mack and was pushed through the intersection. The vehicles traveled to the northeast grass shoulder embarkment, where the Nissan became dislodged.
At that time, the rear axles of the Mack traveled over the passenger compartment of the Nissan.
The FHP reported that Wendler sustained fatal injuries in the crash.
Kottkamp was not injured.
The accident is not alcohol related, according to the FHP.
It is under investigation with charges pending, officials said.
A phone message left for Kottkamp was not returned by press time Thursday.
Officials at Florida Gulf Coast University reported that Wendler was a junior at the college and had been majoring in sociology. He had been a student with FGCU since enrolling in August 2014.
“We are deeply saddened that our student, Ryan Wendler, lost his life yesterday in a horrible automobile crash,” FGCU Vice President Susan Evans said via email. “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with Ryan’s family and his friends as they deal with this senseless and tragic loss.”
According to Wendler’s Facebook page, he attended F. W. Buchholz High School in Gainesville and Lyman Hall High School in Wallingford, Connecticut. His hometown is listed as Tucson, Arizona.
A life celebration for Wendler will be held on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Williams-Thomas Funeral Home, at 823 N.W. 143rd St., Newberry, FL 32669. For information, call 352-376-7556.