A California high school is mourning the sudden loss of a beloved member of staff after he was tragically killed in a freak accident this week.
According to CBS Sacramento, 59-year-old Marion Adams, the track and football coach at Rio Linda High School, died on Tuesday after being impaled by a metal swing gate in the school's parking lot.
Adams, who was also a multimedia teacher at the high school, had reportedly been riding his bicycle home after track practice on Monday when the tragedy occurred. He is said to have "looked over his shoulder to say goodbye to a student" when he crashed right into the arm of the partially open swing gate.
Immediately whisked to the hospital, Adams underwent two surgeries but ultimately succumbed to multiple internal injuries.
"Adams was a 1972 graduate of [Rio Linda High School] and began teaching there in 2004. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues, and the students who admired him. He will be missed by all of us," the Twin Rivers Unified School District said in a statement this week.
Mike Morris, the athletic director at Rio Linda, echoed these sentiments, telling the Sacramento Bee just how important a fixture Adams was in the high school community.
"Marion was the most popular and nicest man on campus; just a great guy," he said. "It's a huge loss, devastating to our community. He's an example of how great Rio Linda is as a school and community. He couldn't wait to come back here. This place meant everything to him."
Adams' son, Joe, added that his father had been a wonderful family man as well.
“He was a great dad, always wanted me to do my best, tried to help everybody he could,” he told CBS Sacramento.
On Twitter, scores of current and former students of Adams' have expressed just how much the coach and teacher meant to them:
RIP Coach Adams! You were a great man! Taught me how to play football and love the game. #GreatMan you'll be missed.
— Xavier Torres (@8HoneyBadger) March 5, 2013
According to the Sacramento Bee, Adams is survived by his wife Kathy, two children, two grandchildren, his mother and seven siblings.