Penn State lost a fun-loving soccer fan, amateur guitarist and dedicated aerospace engineering student when John Henry J. Cox, a 21-year-old junior, died Sunday in a single-car accident on his way back to State College.

"It was a big shock and a big loss for our department," David Spencer, assistant professor of aerospace engineering, said.

Spencer, who taught Cox last semester in an introductory astronautics course, described him as an excellent student.

"He was very enthusiastic about what he was doing," Spencer said.

Cox's accident occurred at 1:05 p.m. Sunday as Cox was driving south on State Route 296 in Clinton Township, Wayne County, according to a report from the Honesdale Pennsylvania State Police. When Cox's 1992 Jeep Wrangler crossed over the centerline into the northbound lane, he overcorrected, causing his car to roll over several times.

There were no passengers in Cox's car and there were no other vehicles involved in the accident.

Cox was pronounced dead at the scene and transported by ambulance to Wayne Memorial Hospital, a hospital spokesman said.

He was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident, police said.

His family could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Before he moved to Pleasant Mount, Pa. with his family, Cox was born and raised in England. He was a "huge soccer fan" who loved to tune into English matches, his roommate Brandon Dahms (junior-kinesiology) said.

As Dahms remembered Cox, his voice choked with emotion. He described him as a fun-loving friend who was always energetic and always made people smile.

"He loved to party and he was always the life of one," Dahms said.

He lived with Cox for a year and a half and has known him since they were both freshmen.

"He would always play his guitar," Dahms said. "He was good."

At least once a day, Dahms said, he'd hear Cox strumming away.

One of Cox's former professors said he knew how to have fun, but he also took his classes seriously. Last semester, Cox frequently dropped by during Kenneth Brentner's office hours and the two became acquainted.

"He was fun to be around," said Brentner, an associate professor of aerospace engineering.

A Web page Cox created in February 2002 reveals the enthusiasm Cox had for his major.

"One could become anything from an aerodynamicist on motor racing cars to a space shuttle engineer at NASA, or even working on top secret government projects at AREA 51," he wrote. "Aerospace engineering is by far the best (in my opinion) of the engineering disciplines!"