I-675 wrong-way crash: 18-year-old victim ‘best friend anybody could ask for’

(UPDATE @ 8:40 p.m. Oct. 23): Kalip Grimm, 18, one of two men killed in the Oct. 16 wrong-way crash on I-675 in Centerville, is being remembered as "the best friend anybody could ask for."

Two of his best friends, in Collin Hare and Ty Marker, spoke about Grimm following his funeral Monday morning.

“His personality was just an amazing thing and every time he saw you, every single time, he said, ‘wasss up baby.’ That was his go-to line,” Hare said.

Hare and Marker wore orange -- Grimm’s favorite color.

Nearly 400 vehicles were part of the procession and there were nearly 2,000 signatures in the guest book.

RELATED: 2 killed, 2 injured in I-675 wrong-way driver crash

  • Police: Melvin Bonie Jr., 69, was the wrong-way driver
  • Grimm was driving the car Bonie hit head-on, police said
  • Police: Initial findings point to excessive speed, not alcohol

Grimm graduated from Miamisburg High School in the spring and was working a full-time job since graduation, according to his mother Stacy Grimm. His 19th birthday would have been Sunday

RELATED: Wrong-way driver detection: Could new technology save lives here?

The fatal crash Monday occurred five days before Kalip’s 19th birthday, Grimm said.

Melvin Bonie Jr. was a Beavercreek resident who was a retired analyst from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, according to friend Karen Rase of Beavercreek.

RELATED: Wrong-way crashes often deadly, hard to prevent 

He was a wine connoisseur who spent much of his retirement traveling, collecting art and enjoying dinners, she said.

“He never made ordinary stuff other people would make,” she said. “When he did cook…it was roast duck and he always had the perfect wine. “

Bonie was a wine consultant with Tramonte & Sons, according to the wine distributor’s website, who was known to attend and hold wine-tastings around the area.

A native of New Orleans, he was a graduate of the University of New Orleans, according to his Facebook page.

We’ll continue to update this page as we learn more both men.

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