Abraham Pishevar, an 18-year-old Georgetown Prep graduate, was killed in a small plane crash in Ohio along with three others on Aug. 25. The small propeller plane, piloted by 20-year-old William M. Felten, crashed in Willoughby Hills almost immediately after taking off from the local Cuyahoga County Airport. The other passengers on the flight were identified by Ohio police as 20-year-old Lucas V. Marcelli and 18-year-old John Hill. All four young men killed were students at Case Western University in Cleveland. Monica Shomali, a WJ senior, was close friends with Pishevar.

“Abe was the type of person that never brought you down. It was almost impossible for him to do that because all he ever did was lift people up and support them,” Shomali said.

Pishevar’s death has affected many, both at WJ and in the community at large.

“Abe was extremely popular,” Shomali explained. “He was one of the most loved people I know. Everybody in the D.M.V was absolutely heartbroken when we heard the news.”

Pishevar’s funeral and burial were on August 30th and almost 200 people attended. Friends of Pishevar from all over the U.S. including Florida, Georgia, New York, Connecticut, California and Washington flew in to honor his memory. Police are still investigating what caused the plane to malfunction, and have released a statement that determining the exact cause of the crash could take up to a year.

“It’s still difficult accepting that it happened but we’ve all been trying to support one another and celebrate his life as much as possible,” Shomali said. “We’re slowly coming to terms with this tragic event.”