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Vigil held for Robbinsville Schools Superintendent

Published  April 19, 2016 10:14pm EDT
U.S.
FOX 29 Philadelphia

ROBBINSVILLE, NJ (WTXF) - SKYFOX was over the scene of a fatal accident involving a pedestrian in New Jersey Tuesday morning. The victim in the crash has now been identified as the Robbinsville Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Steven Mayer. A vigil was held in his honor was Tuesday night.

The crash occurred shortly before 7:00 a.m. in Robbinsville along Route 526 and Robbinsville Edinburg Road.

READ MORE: Robbinsville Schools Superintendent killed in crash

"This turnout tonight is a testament to who we are as a community and our hearts are breaking."

A testament to the love a community has for its school superintendent. Based on the crowd of more than 500, Dr. Steven Mayer was clearly not your run of the mill school administrator. Disbelieve was seen in the faces of so many as to how a beautiful morning could have taken such a horrific turn.

"I thought to myself, 'Ok,God, I'm a pastor, I'm supposed to get this. Supposed to know how this works. And right now, I don't. Can we agree that we're not okay? It's not okay."

52-year-old Dr. Steven Mayer and his dog were out for a morning jog near the high school when they were both struck and killed by a car, driven by a female student, trying to catch a school bus for a field trip to New York City.

His dedication was clearly contagious.

"He's always walking down the hallways as I was waiting for my class and he'd always high five us and tell us hi or ask us how our day is going," one student explained.

"He's always at all our sporting events for every sport at the school. He just loved to be there for everyone. Just a really caring man. Just a genuine nice person," said a teammate of Dr. Mayer's son.

Flowers piled up as a few prayers were spoken. Candles were lit, and then the short vigil was over, but it just didn't seem enough because for the next hour barely anyone left.

"I think the silence really speaks right now. And we're all just really in shock. He was an amazing man."

The silence was only broken up by stories shared of a man who gave so much.

He was a superintendent second and a true family man, first.

"Dr. Mayer always thought that things could be better. That people could be better and I know that he's looking down right now and he's smiling," said Matt O'Grady.