Crash claims Batavia student

Ryan Rendleman was scheduled to walk across the stage and accept his diploma next week at Southern Illinois University's graduation.

Instead, his family plans to send his brother across the stage to pick up the diploma for Ryan, who died in a traffic crash Tuesday.

"He was everybody's best friend," said Diana Soliwon, who worked with him at the Daily Egyptian student newspaper at SIU. "I think that's why it hurts so much."

Rendleman, a 2004 Batavia High School graduate, was driving to an assignment for the newspaper and was stopped in a Washington County construction zone on Tuesday afternoon.

A semitrailer truck hit Rendleman's car, pushing it into two other semis, according to Illinois State Police. No one else was injured.

The driver of the first truck, Kevin E. Morrison, 51, of Beecher City, Ill., was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and failure to keep a duty log book, Trooper Scott Tolliver said.

Morrison told police he was changing the radio station and couldn't stop in time for the stopped cars when he looked up, Tolliver said.

Memorials are being planned at SIU, the Daily Egyptian and at Rendleman's Carbondale church in the coming week.

"I think that just speaks to the kind of person he was," said Brandon Augsburg, who had been friends with him since seventh grade in Batavia. "Yesterday, we were walking around the communications building, and everyone in that place took it hard."

Friends remembered him on Wednesday as someone who always spoke his mind and was friendly to everyone.

"You could always count on him to tell you what he thought, in the nicest way possible," Soliwon said.

During his sophomore year, Rendleman joined Vine Community Church in Carbondale and recommitted his life to Christianity, Associate Pastor Steve Dame said.

He was a member of one of the church's small groups and was a leader in its junior high program. And whenever the church needed photos, Rendleman would help, Dame said.

Although he started at the Daily Egyptian as a reporter, he found his true calling as a photographer and was to do an internship at the Southern Illinoisian newspaper this summer.

Colleagues remembered his work on "photo columns," including a stint going through ROTC training for a weekend titled, "Training Private Ryan."

"He was very thoughtful. He had a great eye," Augsburg said. "I think he was going to be great at that. He loved it, and he was good at it."

Visitation for Rendleman will be from 4 to 9 p.m. today at Moss Funeral Home, 209 S. Batavia Ave., Batavia. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Christ Community Church, 37W100 Bolcum Road, St. Charles.

Memorial contributions may be made to Voice of the Martyrs, P.O. Box 443, Bartlesville, OK 74005. Contributions should be marked for "Sudan" in memory of Ryan Rendleman.