Eileen Zelis Aria, a 2017 graduate of the Ohio State University College of Dentistry who was completing an anesthesiology residency in New York City, was among five people killed when a bus lost control and triggered a multivehicle crash early Sunday morning on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. She was on her way back to Columbus for a visit.

A graduate of Ohio State University’s College of Dentistry was among the five people killed when the driver of a commercial bus lost control and triggered a multivehicle crash Sunday on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the western part of the state.

Eileen Zelis Aria, 35, was reportedly traveling from New York City to Columbus to shadow some local dental anesthesiologists and to see friends. She was among 56 passengers on the packed Z&D Tour Inc. bus when the driver lost control around 3:30 a.m. Sunday and it hit a concrete median, went up an embankment and rolled onto its side in the turnpike’s westbound lane in rural Mount Pleasant Township, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh.

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The bus crash in lightly falling snow triggered a chain-reaction collision that also involved a FedEx truck, a UPS truck and a car, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Aria graduated from the College of Dentistry in 2017, university records show. There, she found a mentor in Dr. Bryant Cornelius, clinical program director of dental/oral maxillofacial anesthesiology, with whom she did a one-month rotation during her residency.

Cornelius said he was supposed to have lunch with Aria on Wednesday. He said Aria was one of those people who always thought about others. She often texted him about art and architecture she saw in New York City.

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When she went back to Turkey to visit her mother over the summer, she brought back an artisan mug for him. "She was in Turkey and thought of me," said Cornelius, who added that he has cried a lot this week.

"She was a light," Cornelius said.

He also thought she would make a perfect anesthesiologist.

"She’s compassionate, very smart, quick to catch on," Cornelius said. "She worked extremely well with my patients."

In 2018, she took an anesthesiology residency with Jacobi Medical Center in New York City and moved with her father to the Bronx.

This week, her distraught boyfriend, 38-year-old Ty Tennant, told The New York Daily News that Aria "loved new experiences and sharing with other people."

"She was inspired by talented people, beautiful places and fun ideas," Tennant told the newspaper. "She was willing to sacrifice and work hard to make sure her dreams came true — for herself and those around her."

While attending dental school and living in the Columbus area, Aria was a member of the Ohio Roller Derby all-star charter team. Skating under the roller name Loraine Acid, she traveled with the team to competitions around the country.

Amy Spears, a friend of Aria’s, skated with her for close to a decade.

"She was absolutely one of the best skaters we had, incredibly dedicated," said Spears, who lives in the Linden area. "She was truly terrifying to play against. After the game, the nicest person on the planet."

After Aria moved to New York, she began skating for the Suburbia Roller Derby team, Tennant told the Daily News.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help her father pay for her burial: gf.me/v/c/yhg/remembering-dr-eileen-quotzeequot-aria

Aria and another New York City bus passenger, 9-year-old Jaremy Vazquez, were killed in the crash along with the bus driver, Shuang Qing Feng, 58, who was thrown from the bus. Feng had driven the motor coach since it left Queens at 10 a.m. Saturday and was only about 10 miles from where a relief driver waited when the deadly pileup occurred, the NTSB said.

Passenger Lamar Brady of Columbus told The Dispatch the bus seemed to be traveling too fast in the conditions and passed the FedEx truck shortly before it went out of control. Brady was among 60 people injured in the crash, though he said he was banged up and sore but not hospitalized.

In addition to the three on the bus killed, UPS employees Daniel Kepner, 53, and Dennis Kehler, 48, were also killed.

The Z&D Tour motor coach involved was to stop in Columbus, Cincinnati and Louisville before returning to Queens.

jwilhelm@dispatch.com

mferenchik@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik