Death of promising Assumption student a 'tragic accident'

She embraced academic challenges and, after sailing through finals last week, returned home and turned to another rigorous exercise, fitness. On Monday, she hit the treadmill and then went walking.

"She told me that she wanted to crank it up a notch, to get in really good shape physically," her father, Andrew Nanopoulos said by phone yesterday.

His daughter did not return from her trek through Breakheart Reservation, a 640-acre hardwood forest with walking and jogging trails, about a mile from the home she shared with her parents and brother. She was hit and killed by a red pickup truck Monday afternoon in what authorities described as a "tragic accident."

The accident occurred about 3:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Northeast Metro Tech High School, which is adjacent to the reservation.

Steven Brown, 19, of Winthrop, the driver of the pickup and a senior at the high school, has not been charged.

Wakefield police and State Police are continuing their investigation, but say that alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the accident and that there are no preliminary indications that excessive speed contributed to the mishap. Authorities have interviewed Brown, who they said has a valid license.

Wakefield police Lieutenant John MacKay said Brown apparently was attempting a hairpin turn when he hit Nanopoulos. "There is nothing blatant staring at us in this investigation up to now," he said. "It appears to be just a tragic accident."

Several students witnessed the accident, and a crisis team was sent to the school to help those students and anyone else affected by Nanopoulos's death, MacKay said.

Car accidents are the leading cause of death in the United States for people under the age of 20, said Dan Strollo, the president of In Control Advanced Driver Training based in Wilmington, which conducts a crash prevention program certified by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Sharon deKlerk, a staff member at Assumption College, called Nanopoulos a model student. During her freshman year, the psychology major joined a school club that helps promote awareness of people with disabilities, and she often volunteered her time to help organize events, said deKlerk, an adviser to the club. Nanopoulos was planning to help out with a wheelchair basketball game in the fall.

Nanopoulos's father said that his daughter often volunteered and that she never missed a day of high school, graduating in 2008 from Austin Preparatory School in Reading. "She had this natural curiosity that made her question how things worked," he said. "She wanted to know how dreams worked, she wanted to know why cheeses turned out differently. She had a zest for knowledge, and that sparked her."

His daughter also played the saxophone and violin and sculpted. "She was not a drinker or partier. She was about academics," he said.

Nanopoulos also loved animals, and regularly fed ducks near her school. About a month ago, her family visited at Assumption, and Alyssa asked if they could all go feed the ducks. She took a loaf of bread and soon, father and daughter were surrounded by dozens of ducks and geese. "It was amazing; here we were, with all these animals at our feet," her father said. "Alyssa had a nickname for one of them, a duck she remembered from previous feedings. She called it Jumper because it was always jumping at her to get food."

The family also gathered for Mother's Day. As Alyssa sat across the table from her father, he text-messaged her.

"I asked her if she was enjoying herself, he said. "Yes," she texted back.

Funeral arrangements are pending.