A friend of one of the victims of the crash on the Taconic State Parkway is remembering him and the impact he had on many.

Christian Johns grew up in Somers with Robert Violante.

The 45-year-old was one of the victims in Wednesday’s fatal crash on the Taconic State Parkway.

State police say Violante was the driver of the 2024 Honda Accord.

Officials say he was heading home to northern Westchester when the crash happened.

"It’s just really hard to accept that," says Christian Johns, a friend of Robert Violante. “I’ve spoken to football, and I played a tremendous amount of basketball together both for Somers and then additionally for the Westchester Putnam Panthers."

The Bergenfield School District identified the driver as Robert Violante, a high school football and track coach affectionately known as “Coach V.”

"Day one, he was our leader," says Johns. "Just a common thread to all of it and it was helping and leading others and I can attest to that."

Johns says growing up he was friend both on and off the field growing up. He said Violante will be missed and had a big impact on those around him.

"He was such a phenomenal athlete but just an even better person," he said.