Seventeen Year Old Killed in Hays County Car Wreck

Seventeen-year-old Zachary Maresch had worked for months with his father, Tim, to restore the silver and blue Chevrolet Corvette he bought on Craigslist.

Zachary's close friends were skeptical of the buy, said Dalton Wharton, 17.

"We all thought it was going to be a piece of junk," he said. But the classic car surprised them all. "It actually ran really well," Dalton said.

Occasionally, Zachary would take his close friends out for a ride in the car. He was still smoothing out some minor imperfections.

But on Wednesday morning, Zachary was driving north on Oak Grove Road in Hays County and lost control of the Corvette. He ran off the road and struck two trees. A passenger in the car was injured. Zachary was killed in the crash.

The passenger, 21-year-old Adam Christopherson, was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge. He was treated and later released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Zachary was weeks away from beginning his senior year at Hays High School, said Hays school district spokeswoman Julie Jerome.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our students. The hearts of Hays High School students and faculty go out to Zachary's family during this dark time," Superintendent Jeremy Lyon said in an e-mail.

Zachary had already been accepted to the University of North Dakota and had visited the school's campus just weeks before his death. He planned to be a pilot. "He wanted to fly," Dalton said.

Friends remembered him as quiet but funny — a "closet clown," Dalton said.

"He had the ability to make anybody laugh. He was easily the funniest guy I knew," said Corey Robinson, 17, an incoming senior at Hays High. Zachary was the first friend Corey made when he moved to Texas two years ago.

"He was an amazing friend and somebody who was always able to bring my spirits up," Corey said.

Maria Fraser, who taught Zachary's confirmation class two years earlier at Santa Cruz Catholic Church, remembered him as "very strong" and part of a close group of friends.

"He was very close to his family," Fraser said. "They are such compassionate, kind people."

Zachary is survived by his parents, Tim and Lucy Maresch, and sister Ashlie, along with his grandparents, Alan and Jean Maresch and Linda Belmares.

A visitation and rosary for Zachary will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Harrell Funeral Home in Kyle.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at the Santa Cruz Catholic Church.