The accident may have occurred thousands of miles away but the tragedy hit home as the Chaminade community mourned the deaths of Brother Lawrence Zarzycki and junior Brendan Tracey.

A crash that took place near the Grand Canyon in Arizona on Saturday, July 8, during Chaminade High School's semi-annual field trip, the USA study tour, has left many seeking answers. The accident claimed the lives of Zarzycki, 38, a teacher at the school who grew up in Mineola, and Tracey, 16, a Garden City resident who would have been entering his junior year at Chaminade.

The accident reportedly occurred at 11:45 a.m. while a van driven by Zarzycki and containing 11 people ¬ nine students including Tracey, who was in the very back seat, and another Chaminade brother ¬ veered off Arizona's State Highway 64. The accident did not involve another vehicle and none of the other nine occupants of the van sufferered serious injuries. Another Chaminade van containing 11 others was on the road ahead of the one Zarzycki was driving.

Last week, Chaminade president, Father James Williams, appeared somber as he publicly spoke about the incident. "I don't think any school president, teacher, or father would ever want to handle this and I pray to God they never have to," he said.

Chaminade's USA study tour, according to Williams, is a prestigious trip that approximately 100 students vie for. Only 18 were selected to go after a long application process that involves essays and faculty input. "To be chosen for this trip is to be someone who, as a student body and as a faculty, we respect. To be a faculty moderator is not something that is chosen lightly as well," Williams said.

The purposes of the trip, which has been a 30-year tradition at the school, are to enhance students' spiritual lives as well as assist in the learning of history and geography of the country.

The 18 students, as well as three brothers and a lay member of the faculty, were only one week into the three-week trip and having a good time when the rare opportunity turned into a mid-summer's nightmare.

Understandably, the tragedy rocked the Chaminade community. On the first night of the wake held for both in Darby Auditorium at the school on Wednesday, July 12, a line comprised of students, alumni and those wishing to pay their respects, at one point, extended from the entrance of the auditorium near Jackson Avenue, down Saville Road to Jericho Turnpike, where it wrapped around. Some waited more than an hour to get into the auditorium.

Williams said he was proud of the way the students on the trip as well as the school's community were handling themselves under such adversity. "Immediately after the accident, five students who were in the van who suffered only minor bruises gathered and prayed the Rosary," he said. "They've seen God's grace."

Chaminade's president said he was also grateful for all of the support the school has received. "We thought about writing, when this is over, a Chicken Soup for the Soul book with all the stories we're going to be able to compile," said Williams, who was one at Tracey's teachers.

As reports circulate concerning what may have happened, the cause of the incident seems to be secondary. The fact remains that the Chaminade community lost one of its finest students, one of its finest teachers and two of its finest citizens.

Upon walking into the lobby of Darby Auditorium, a case on the left displays some of Zarzycki and Tracey's belongings. In one half of the case, some items help to define what gave the brother and the Chaminade student joy in life. In a case set up as a tribute to Tracey, a baseball glove was placed as well as hockey gloves, a stick and a jersey bearing the number "9." There was also on display an essay about saints Tracey wrote for school, a paper that garnered a grade of 92. Good grades were not foreign to the honor student. In a case arranged in tribute to Zarzycki, the guitar the brother used to play for Masses was displayed as a reminder of Zarzyci's affinity for music.

Although these items helped in giving those who viewed a sense of what Zarzycki and Tracey were interested in, what they were all about was clearly defined in the tears what swelled from students, alumni and friends; how they were thought of was evident in the hours mourners stood on a line outside the school, waiting to pay their respects.

Tracey, an honor student at Chaminade, dreamed of taking the USA study tour since he was 10 years old. An avid swimmer and hockey player, member of Chaminade's championship volleyball team, and an editor of the school's yearbook, Tracey is remembered by the Chaminade community as a hard worker who was kind, with a quiet enthusiasm and an appreciation of life.

The Garden City resident,who attended the Stewart School for two years and St. Joseph's School was an altar server at St. Joseph's Church and dedicated many volunteer hours through Chaminade's Emmaus Program.

At the Stewart School, Tracey was a member of the Mathletes Club and helped put on the fifth grade's performance of Madame Butterfly. Principal, Dr. Marie Braccia, remembers Tracey as a student who was well liked by his classmates. "To come here in fourth grade and really stand out is a credit to him and his ability to make friends and cooperate with people," she said.

Before attending Chaminade, Tracey graduated from Garden City Middle School. Principal Edward Sallie said he didn't know Tracey personally but recently spoke with some members of his staff who did know him. "The tributes I have been receiving about Brendan are unbelievable ¬ how sweet and respectful he was," Sallie said, adding that Tracey is remembered as someone who was supportive of his fellow students. "If another student got into trouble or needed some type of assistance, he was always there and I've heard that from more than one person."

Both Zarzycki and Tracey were buried on Friday in Westbury. Yet, what caused the van to crash is a question that remains. Father Williams' comments seemed to dispel the theory that the crash was due to fatigue.

Chaminade's president said Zarzycki had taken over driving duties from Brother Benjamin Knapp, who was also in the van, only an hour to an hour and a half before the accident. The day before, the group was in Las Vegas and had a good night's rest in a hotel, Williams said. "It was not a camping night. I know Brother went to bed early," he added. "Brother Lawrence did not start driving that day. Brother Benjamin had been driving and they switched after a half hour break."

Williams reported, however, that earlier in the morning of the accident, Zarzycki complained of physical discomfort and had a pack of Rolaids with him. "Some type of indigestion is what he claimed," Williams said. "When they were on a half hour break before they got back in the van, Brother Lawrence had had some food so that needs to be looked into as well. One of the kids said he thought he saw Brother Lawrence with Gatorade."

At 10:30 AM, approximately an hour and 15 minutes before the crash occurred, Zarzycki was feeling much better, Williams reported. "The kids tell me they were talking to Brother moments before the accident. Brother was known for his sense of humor. They told me he made a bad joke. That was typical of a good math teacher," Williams said. "In terms of his attentiveness, his wit was still about him."

Williams said the van landed on the shoulder of the road, which is said to be gravel with its front grill within two to three feet of the road. "We didn't roll that far off," he added.

The school's president also said he heard reports that the van went toward the yellow line of the two-lane road as if it were avoiding something as opposed to being out of control. "At some point in time, there was what has been referred to as an overcompensation," Williams said.

One of the students in the van reported that Zarzycki struggled with the van before the crash, according to Williams, who also said there were no reports of any mechanical difficulties with the vehicle.

On the Tuesday following the accident, Williams said the cause has yet to be determined. However, he was able to confirm that the surface of the road was wet. Williams also said he was advised by troopers in Arizona that an absolute, definitive answer as to the accident's cause may never be reached.

On a grander scale, the school's president tried his best to offer any kind of solace. "We believe suffering, death and the cross are not the end. There's something else and while this is a tremendous tragedy, life moves on," Williams said.

For the two victims, their last moments of life were spent miles from the Long Island villages where they grew up. However, even before their bodies were flown back mid-week for funeral services at Chaminade, Brother Lawrence Zarzycki and Brendan Tracey were already home. "And now, Brendan and Brother Lawrence are with the Lord. Close to Him. As for us, we will rise again. God will be our strength. We will fly like an eagle," Williams said in his homily during the funeral Mass.