While Napa police work on reconstructing the accident that killed Napa High student Nick Gruenhagen last week, family and friends of the 16-year-old wrestler remembered a vibrant young man who liked "anything powered by gas" and stayed involved in a variety of Napa community activities.

"There wasn't one person I could name that didn't like him," said 23-year-old Levi Gruenhagen, Nick's brother. "The last time I saw him, I told him I'd wrestle him. I never did. Now, I'd just tell him I love him."

The accident occurred Friday morning on Lincoln Avenue, when Gruenhagen's new motorcycle slammed into the side of a car driven by 69-year-old Napan Analee Chambless, who was treated at Queen of the Valley Hospital over the weekend for multiple lacerations to her face, torso and wrist.

Levi Gruenhagen said Nick had bought the motorcycle two weeks before the accident, and Nick had convinced his parents to let him buy it after saving up several months worth of paychecks from his job at Cinedome Theaters. "He put down the down payment and paid for the insurance. He wanted to pay for it, but (his parents) put the rest on credit," Levi Gruenhagen said.

He added that a week before the accident, Nick was pulled over on the bike in Napa for driving more than 100 mph in a 25 mph zone, but got off with a warning. "I would have given him a ticket," Levi Gruenhagen said.

Napa Police officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. It is not yet clear whether excessive speed had anything to do with the fatal accident.

Nick loved cars, bikes and planes, both big and small, Levi Gruenhagen said. Nick had just gotten his private pilot's license, and planned on spending the summer riding dirt bikes, building model cars, and working on his most prized possession: a 1963 Nash Metropolitan car.

"He loved that car more than anything," Levi Gruenhagen said.

Friends and family of the 16-year-old who loved speed and fitness are honoring him this week, painting "RIP Nick" on their car windows, to let the community know how much he will be missed.

Napa High wrestling head coach Gil Schmidt notified Nick's teammates about his death over the weekend, and said several may attend his funeral Friday. "The family was always there to support us. Now we'll be there to support him," Schmidt said.

He remembered a vibrant teen who tried hard at everything he did.

"We lost a family member," Schmidt said. "You get really close to these kids."

Schmidt said that no one on the team was surprised when the teen got his new motorcycle, a Honda 600 F4 I. "Riding a bike was not unique for him. He liked vehicles," he said.

Nick had been working at Cinedome for less than six months, according to coworkers.

"He was a guy who acted nice around everybody. He tried harder than he needed to fit in," said Napa High graduate Peter Stonis, who worked with Nick.

Stonis and other employees at Cinedome remembered Nick being very excited about his new motorcycle, which he rode to work nearly every day.

"He was waiting a long time for that bike. And it took a lot out of his family (financially) to get it for him," Stonis said.

Cinedome employee Stephanie Reynolds said she'll remember Nick as a very charismatic young man who made others around him happy.

"He always made me laugh. And he was nice looking," she said with a smile.

Nick Gruenhagen attended West Park Elementary School, Redwood Middle School and was going to be a senior at Napa High next year. He played in the Napa Youth Soccer League, Napa Recreation Basketball League, Napa Saints Pop Warner Football League, and was on the Napa High football team during his sophomore year.

He was also a member of the Napa High Concert Choir, and planned to attend U.T.I. Technical School in Arizona after he graduated.

The county coroner completed the autopsy of Nick on Monday, determining that the teen died due to multiple traumatic injuries to his chest, according to sheriff's Capt. Mike Loughran. It will take up to three weeks before the county gets back toxicology reports to determine if he had any drugs or alcohol in his system.

"About the only thing he drank was Gatorade. He didn't smoke cigarettes, wouldn't touch drugs ... he wasn't into any of that," Levi Gruenhagen said.

A candlelight vigil for Nick Gruenhagen will be held tonight at 8:30 at the Napa High School quad. His funeral service will be held Friday at First Christian Church, 2659 First St. in Napa, at 11 a.m.

Napa Police are still looking for witnesses to the accident. Anyone with information is asked to call 257-9554.