Adam Laugle of Dayton said Fricke often came back to the area to visit friends he made at Wright State University, where he earned an electrical engineering degree in 2010.
For the past year, he had worked as a production line engineer at Sonoco Plastics Co. in New Albany, northeast of Columbus. His home was in Westerville.
“Several of us saw him while he was here Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. He drove back on Saturday because he had to work, but came back here Saturday night because he had forgotten a few things,” Laugle said. “His work schedule was four days on and three days off. He came back often to visit.”
He considered spending the night, but headed back at about 2 to 2:30 a.m. in his Honda Accord, which collided with Hagenimana’s Toyota Scion, which had barely missed other drivers who called police to report a car traveling west in the eastbound lanes.
Laugle, a graduate student at the University of Dayton, said Fricke’s family hopes to have a memorial service for him at or near Wright State on Oct. 19 “for those who knew him here, but that is still tentative at this point. He deserves to be remembered. His death was everyone’s loss. He was the most selfless person I have ever known. Whenever any of us had a problem, he was the one we turned to. He always made time.”
Laugle was among those who helped Fricke’s parents move his things out of his Westerville apartment on Thursday.
Fricke, who was a resident assistant in the College Park apartments during his time at Wright State, worked in the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for a while as a student.
Laugle said his friend “loved his family and was a very religious person, although he didn’t force that on anyone else.”
Fricke’s hometown was Chantilly, Va.
Services will be at at 1 p.m. Monday at the Cornerstone Chapel, 742 Miller Drive SW in Leesburg, Va.
“Mr. and Mrs. Fricke welcome anyone who knew him to come or to share their remembrances of him by writing to them at 43499 Savoy Woods Court, Chantilly, Va. 20152.
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