SHEFFIELD, Ala. — Sheffield school district officials on Friday confirmed the death of an athletics staff member. In a statement released by the city school district on Facebook, officials said Jason McGee was killed in Mississippi on Thursday night following a basketball game in the city of Luka.
McGee was a beloved member of the school family, they wrote, and said he "loved our school district and students."
Athletic Director David Hufstedler was quoted by the district as saying McGee had "a constant smile and the biggest laugh of anybody around."
"That ever-present smile will always be remembered as well as that big laugh of his that you could hear coming down the hall," Hufstedler said. "He always let our students know he cared for them."
The district wrote that an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash is still ongoing and that further details were not immediately available.
Facebook reactions to the announcement were swift, with calls to rename a facility at the high school athletic complex, or the complex as a whole, in his honor.
"If one of our players went down, McGee was wide open to them and was there in seconds," recalled J Daryl Ivy. "There is a big hole in the hearts of the Sheffield Bulldog family," added Sharon Thomason.
Sheffield City Schools officials said that administrators have met to discuss handling next steps for students and faculty as they receive word of McGee's loss.
"This is a devastating loss for the school district, the city of Sheffield, and throughout the Shoals," they said in their statement, "as he was a beloved professional and friend to all."
