SOUTH BRUNSWICK – A longtime employee of the South Brunswick School District was fatally struck by a vehicle while spraying weeds at Crossroads North Middle School.
The incident occurred during the morning hours of June 15 along the curb of the school on Georges Road, according to Police Chief Raymond Hayducka and Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone through a message on Nixle.
The employee, Dean Battaglia, 53, was spraying weeds along a curb at Crossroads North Middle School on Georges Road when he was struck. Police and EMS attempted life-saving efforts, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The driver of the car stayed at the scene, police said.
South Brunswick Schools Superintendent Scott Feder wrote in a letter to the school community that Battaglia was a “beloved” member of the district and a longtime employee of the building and grounds department. He also worked as a bus driver this school year and loved his students.
Battaglia leaves behind two children, and a fiancée who has three daughters – two attend the township’s high school.
“Our thoughts and prayers are for his family, colleagues, and friends. We are all grieving this sad loss,” Feder wrote.
Hayducka said “the South Brunswick Police Department extends our deepest condolences to the South Brunswick School District on the loss today.”
“We have no words, but as a community, we will work to support our district and one another as best we can during this difficult time,” he said.
Georges Road was closed for four hours as investigators pieced together the crash. The crash remains under investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the South Brunswick Police Traffic Safety Bureau.