Coach dies in freak accident impaled on the arm of a car-park gate when he turned to wave to a student while riding his bike home from practice.
Marion Adams, 59, died in a freak accident Tuesday on his way home from coaching track and field at Rio Linda High School in Sacramento, Calif.
He was riding his bike when he crashed into the arm of a yellow car-park gate, which impaled him. The Examiner reported that he was turning to wave to a student when the accident happened.
Marcel Brown, a track runner, witnessed the accident and told CBS Sacramento: “He looked like he was going to be OK. He was nodding his head ‘yes’ and ’no.'”
The coach was rushed to Mercy San Juan Medical Center where doctors operated on him, but he died hours later. Counseling is available for students who witnessed the shocking and tragic scene, reported CBS.
Adams was an avid San Francisco 49ers fan, a father, a track and field coach, a football coach, a audio/video club advisor, and a television and radio broadcasting teacher at Rio Linda High School. He will be missed in all his roles, and as an active community member.
“He was a great dad,” his son, Joe Adams, told CBS. “[He] always wanted me to do my best, tried to help everybody he could.”
His brother David Adams said, according to the Examiner: “Marion loved kids, loved seeing them do well. He absolutely loved Rio Linda. He gave up a job that paid really well to teach and coach at his favorite school.”
Adams was determined to help, “sometimes digging into his own pocket to help at-risk kids buy equipment, anything to keep them on a positive path,” said his brother.
“Marion was the most popular and nicest man on campus; just a great guy,” the high school’s athletic director, Mike Morris, told the Sacramento Bee. “It’s a huge loss, devastating to our community. He’s an example of how great Rio Linda is as a school and community. ... This place meant everything to him.”
