Miami senior Zhizhe Han: 'A big car guy' and 'a really good friend'

More than anything else, Zhizhe Han loved fast cars.

In his four and a half years at Miami, Han, who went by his last name, drove a Dodge Charger, then a Civic SI, a Mazda IX7, an Infiniti G75 and finally a Mazda Miata.

Han's love of speed was like that of Takumi Fujiwara, the speed-demon protagonist of the popular anime racing movie, "New Initial D: The Movie," said Yaniui "Jerry" Huang, a Miami senior and Han's roommate and best friend.

According to Huang, Han died by suicide in the early morning hours of Sunday, Jan. 27, in Hueston Woods State Park. Han was 22. Details of the death have not been confirmed by authorities. Kimberly Moore, dean of students, said the university could provide no further information about Han's death.

Han is survived by his parents, Xinzhao Han and Wei Hong Zhang, of Hangzhou, China.

"He would not always share the dark sides or the deep sides of himself," said Han's friend Weihao Chen, a Miami graduate student. "We didn't have a chance to see if he was depressed. We are only guessing he was depressed because he didn't actually tell us about these things. He did not mention [seeing] a doctor."

Han was a computer science major who dreamed of one day opening his own car repair shop in Vancouver, Canada.

He loved Hueston Woods. During his time in Oxford, Han drove through the winding roads of the state park and found peace in nature. Han and Huang would sometimes cruise out to Hueston Woods to watch the stars.

"I would call him 'Capital Hueston Woods,'" Chen added. "He probably spent more time in Hueston Woods than anyone else."

Han hated seafood -- couldn't stand to even smell it, let alone eat it.

"Sometimes he ate McChickens," Huang said, "because they're only one dollar."

Han loved what his friends called "real Chinese food."

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During their first year, Han and Huang would drive to Cincinnati to find it, and it was during those frequent drives and dinners together that the two first became friends.

Huang's first impression of Han was that he was really funny.

"We made a lot of jokes together," Huang said. "We traveled a lot, but Han was not really interested in traveling [so much as he] loved spending time with his friends."

Huang and Han visited Miami, FL, and Toronto with their core friend group, most of whom have graduated and returned to China. The two roomates played PC games together on their desktop at home, watched videos about cars and shot hoops at the Rec.

Chen recalled one summer when Han and he took a computer science class together at Miami and spent most of their free time in Oxford talking about cars.

"Every time I needed to change a brake or add some new parts I always called Han," Chen said. "He knew so much about cars."

Han took care of his friends.

He was the kind of person you could rely on to pick you up from the airport, even in his loneliest moments, Huang said.

"We didn't know exactly what he was thinking, but we always saw the bright side of him," Chen said. "He was very funny. We laughed together. We had fun together. He was a great friend."

If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also text HOME to 741-741 for free, 24-hour support from the Crisis Text Line. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources.

If students need support during this difficult time, please contact these resources: Student Counseling Services, 195 Health Services Center, 513-529-4634, or the Dean of Students office, 110 Warfield Hall, 513-529-1877.

doyleca3@miamioh.edu