- Ryan Lantz, a high school teacher and coach from West Virginia, died after being struck by a vehicle in the parking lot of Liberty High School on Tuesday
- It is believed that the person who hit the teacher was blinded by sunlight
- At the time of his death, Lantz had graduated from high school where he worked as a journalism teacher
A West Virginia high school teacher and coach died after being struck by a vehicle in a school parking lot Tuesday morning.
The staff member — identified by family as Ryan Lantz — was struck outside Liberty High School in Clarksburg around 7:30 a.m. local time, according to ABC and NBC affiliate WBOY-TV and MetroNews.
The person who hit the teacher said she was blinded by sunlight at the time of the crash, WVNews.com reported.
The victim was transported to the hospital, where he later died.
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Nearly $7,000 was raised through a GoFundMe campaign set up by Lantz’s family.
“He was a great dad, husband, paw, son, brother, uncle, coach, pastor, teacher and follower of Christ,” his niece Chelsea Holyfield wrote in the description of the online fundraiser.
The Harrison County School District confirmed the death of the “respected” teacher in a statement shared on Facebook.
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“The loss of a beloved teacher is a profound tragedy for our school community,” district officials added. “Our thoughts are with the families involved at this difficult time.”
Lanz himself graduated from Liberty High School, according to WVNews.com. He was a two-sport athlete while attending school and later became a coach.
The deceased educator spent 10 years teaching at the school, where he was working as a journalism professor at the time of his death, the newspaper reports. He served as the boys varsity basketball coach for four years before stepping down in 2021 and later became the freshman coach and varsity assistant at Robert C. Byrd High School.
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Lantz also worked at a church camp during the summer. “He will be missed by many who had the pleasure of knowing him, or being able to hear him play his guitar or his campfire sermon at Church Camp,” Holyfield wrote on GoFundMe.
Tuesday’s crash, while “tragic,” appears to be “accidental,” Harrison County Sheriff Robert Matheny told MetroNews. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
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Source: HIS Education