NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A 17-year-old in New Jersey’s largest city was struck and killed while returning home from his senior prom, authorities said.
Christopher Gibbs, the president of the senior class at Newark’s Barringer High School, was hit by a tractor-trailer while crossing a street around 11:30 p.m. Thursday in Newark, officials said. He was taken to a hospital where he died just before 12:30 a.m. Friday.
The truck driver stopped, called for help and tried to give Gibbs first aid, officials said. Gibbs had been walking alone along a busy stretch of the four-lane road in a commercial and industrial area. The school’s prom was being held in West Orange.
No charges have been filed.
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Gibbs was set to be honored at an awards dinner Friday night, a school official said. Grief counselors were at the school that morning to provide support to students and are expected to be there several more days.
The school district’s superintendent called Gibbs a “beloved” member of the school. He was supposed to enroll at The College of Westchester in White Plains, New York, this fall.
“He was always thinking of the future and aiming high,” a friend, George Williams, told NJ.com
The crash is still under investigation.