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A Liberty High School teacher named Ryan Lantz has passed away after being struck by a vehicle in the school parking lot.
Ryan Lantz was a basketball coach and teacher.
He worked at Liberty High School in Clarksburg, West Virginia — about 125 miles north east of Charleston.
Lantz was a coach at Robert C. Byrd High School, where he was head coach of the freshman boys basketball team and assistant coach for the boys varsity team.
Lantz was also the former head coach for the Liberty High School’s boys basketball team.
What happened
Harrison County Sheriff Robert Matheny said the collision occurred at about 7:30 a.m. as students and staff were arriving for the day.
Matheny said it appears to be a terrible accident.
“Tragic, but accidental,” Matheny told MetroNews.
The Harrison County Sheriff’s Department has a school resource officer at Liberty High and the officer was first on the scene, Matheny said.
The driver, according to witnesses, was a student and may have been blinded by the sun.
Matheny hasn’t confirmed who the driver was or a possible cause of the collision. He said an investigation is underway.
The staff member was taken by helicopter to Ruby Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Harrison County Schools released the statement below on its official Facebook page:
“The Harrison County Board of Education is deeply saddened to announce the tragic passing of a respected teacher at Liberty High School, following an accident that occurred early Tuesday morning in the school’s parking lot.
The loss of the beloved teacher is a profound tragedy for our school community. Our thoughts are with the families involved during this difficult time.
Out of respect, all extracurricular activities at Liberty High School as well as the Harrison County Board of Education meetings scheduled for this evening have been canceled.”
