BU student driver remembers 'best friend'

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- The 20-year-old Boston University student who was driving a minivan that crashed on a rural New Zealand road earlier this month, killing three of his classmates, is speaking out about the pain of losing his best friend.

And the parents of a student who was critically injured in the May 12 crash say it could have been any one of her classmates driving that day.

Fairfax Media reports that the driver, Stephen Houseman, of Massapequa, New York, took part in a memorial service attended by about 200 people Saturday evening in Auckland, where he was supported and hugged throughout by his parents and Boston U. friends.

The service came a day after Houseman, who was slightly injured in the crash, was charged by New Zealand authorities with seven counts of careless driving causing injury or death.