WEST PARK, FLA. (WSVN) - The founder and principal of a West Park school was killed after he was struck by a car while at the scene of a crash involving some of his students, family members said.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and fire rescue units responded to the scene along West Hallandale Beach Boulevard and Southwest 40th Avenue at around 2:30 p.m., Thursday.
The victim was identified by family as Jovan Rembert, the founder and principal of West Park Preparatory School.
“It’s a very hard pill to swallow,” Joshua Drayton, his cousin, said. “It hurts. It hurts real bad.”
Bruce Madry, Rembert’s cousin, spoke to 7News at their family church. He said when he heard what happened, he immediately feared the worst.
“His body was probably like 250 feet away from the intersection with a yellow tarp around it,” he said.
Madry added that his cousin was there following a crash involving his students.
“One of his buses for his school got into an accident, so he went there to check on the bus and check on the kids to make sure everyone was OK,” Madry said.
7SkyForce HD hovered over the scene where a car could be seen with severe front-end damage and its windshield smashed in.
BSO officials later said Rembert was crossing the street when he was hit by the vehicle.
Bessie Higgs said Rembert was the principal of her two children. She said he would give the clothes off his back to anyone in need.
“If you were a child in the street just doing something wrong, he would be like, ‘No, son, you need to come to my school, and let me help you become something,'” she said. “I just can’t believe it.”
Principal Eboni Burts of ECB Educational Center, a school that shares a campus with West Park Preparatory School, said Rembert was a friend and mentor.
“This was like a family, and he was a part of it,” she said. “He is a part of it. We had devotion together and just explained that one of our members, one of the people here at West Park, one of the principals, one of the directors is no longer with us.”
“This man was awesome, when I say awesome… man had a heart,” pastor Zedrick Young struggled to say as he fought back tears. “I could always count on him. Every year giving back to the community, giving bookbags away with school supplies, Dr. Rembert was there.”
While detectives continue their investigation, Rembert’s family said they will use their strength to get through the tragedy.
“We’re already a close-knit family, so it’ll just bring us closer,” Madry said.
The driver of the vehicle that struck Rembert remained on the scene, deputies said.
A makeshift memorial could be seen outside the front of the school on Friday morning.
West Park Preparatory School released a statement saying Rembert’s death is a tremendous loss.
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