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<B>Grad student dies in wreck</B><P>
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<FONT SIZE=4><B>By James Ritchie</B><BR></FONT>Senior Staff Writer
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A UK student died Friday night of chest injuries suffered in a car accident after her husband veered the car into oncoming traffic in an attempt to avoid a drunk pedestrian.<P>
Ben Wiley was taken to UK Medical Center with back injuries, broken ribs and blood on his lungs. He was listed in fair condition yesterday.The driver of the other car, Angela Byrd, was discharged from UK Medical Center yesterday.
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The pedestrian was charged with disorderly conduct and alcohol intoxication.
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Speaking in a whisper in a phone interview from his hospital room, Wiley said he was living "day to day" and hoped to receive a day pass to attend his wife's burial today. He said he was losing his voice because he had talked to so many of his friends who have visited.
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Deborah and Ben Wiley, who married a year ago, shared a belief in the Baha'i faith. Wiley said the Baha'i view of the afterlife is helping him cope.
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"I'm not at all sad for her, because she lived her life so fully," Wiley said. "I know that she's well. The only sadness is loneliness."
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The couple met two years ago in Honduras, where Deborah Wiley was serving at a remote medical facility. They planned to move to Puerto Rico at the end of the semester, where he would practice medicine. They were also going to make a pilgrimage to Israel to visit the holy places, said Carl Lee, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is in Lexington.
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Deborah Wiley grew up in Venezuela, where her parents instilled in her a desire to help others, Lee said. She volunteered at the Hope Center and worked on the planning board of last summer's Race Unity Week, he said.
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Lee said the Baha'is have a saying that instructs them to "walk the spiritual path with practical feet," meaning they should not simply focus on the abstract ideal of a oneness of humanity, but work in real ways to achieve it.
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Deborah Wiley did this "par excellence," he said. "She was just a radiant person."
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Lee's wife, Sarah, said Deborah Wiley was "somebody who made a large mark on the community in a very short time." She was perceptive, kind and wise beyond her years, she said.
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Both Lees said Ben Wiley was doing a remarkable job of recovering. Deborah and Ben were a perfect match, Lee said, and the loss of his wife has been devastating for Wiley.
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There can be no doubt that the uplifting principles of his faith are helping him through, Lee said.
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