Friends of three Penn State students killed in a car accident on Interstate 80 last weekend recalled the women as "inspirational, gentle and precious."

Daniel Trout (sophomore-journalism and history) said graduate student and communications lecturer Djung Tchoi created a classroom atmosphere that made him look forward to attending class.

"Out of my entire college experience, she's the [lecturer] who stood out the most," Trout said.

Tchoi was driving the 1997 Nissan Maxima that crossed into oncoming traffic and rolled into the air, killing Tchoi, 33, Hyeonhwa Lee, 30 and Joo-Ook Kim, 27, last Saturday near Danville.

Tchoi, Lee and Kim were all international graduate students from Korea.

Tchoi was a doctoral student in mass communications, Kim was a master's degree student in business administration and Lee was a doctoral student in educational theory and policy.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Wayne Laskoski said police have completed their investigation, though it is still unclear why Tchoi lost control of the vehicle.

"For whatever reason, she went off into the rumble strips," Laskoski said.

Police have not been able to obtain additional information from Penn State student Jinhee Kim, 30, who survived the crash.

"She doesn't remember anything," Laskoski said.

Tchoi made sure to memorize the names and faces of all 50 students in both of her Communications 411 (Cultural Aspects of Mass Media) classes by taking pictures of her students at the beginning of the semester, Mark Loucks (junior-journalism) said.

"I thought a lot of that, that a professor would go that far out of her way to make sure she could put a name with a face," he said.

Matt McAllister, an associate professor of communications who will teach Tchoi's classes for the rest of the semester, said the College of Communications has lost one of its top graduate students.

"I'm hoping to be as similar to the spirit as she wanted [in class]," he said during the class yesterday.

Charles Smith, an adviser for the Smeal College of Business, said he worked with Joo-Ook Kim, who was studying accounting, and stood in for her parents during her graduation in May 2004.

"This wasn't just a loss of a student," he said. "She was also a dear, dear friend."

During advising appointments, their conversation would often turn to philosophical topics, Smith said.

He described Joo-Ook Kim as "one of the most precious human beings I have ever come across in my life."

Suet-Ling Pong, an adviser for the College of Education, said Lee served as her research assistant in 2003.

"She's the kind of person you can count on," Pong said.

Pong said she felt like a surrogate mother to Lee while she was away from her family in Korea.

Tenisha Tevis (graduate-educational theory and policy) said she knew Lee through classes and group projects.

Lee was passionate about studying American education, she said.

"It was a big deal for her to try to get to understand the American education system," Tevis said.

Tevis said she will miss Lee's smile the most.

"Every time you saw her in class, she smiled," she said. "I don't know if she ever had bad days."

A date has not been set yet for the on-campus memorial services for Tchoi, Lee and Kim.