A Dover High School student hit by a car on Route 46 last week died Saturday night, members of the school community said.
Steven Gomez-Restrepo, 15, had been in a medically induced coma at Morristown Medical Center since being hit by a car on Route 46 in Rockaway after a Sept. 13 football game at Morris Knolls High School.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. James McLaughlin emailed the faculty at Dover at about 9 p.m. Saturday.
Gomez-Restrepo, a sophomore, was a distance runner for the track and cross-country teams. The Dover High School track and field program tweeted the news of his death as well.
It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of a dear member of our track family. The DHS sophomore that was struck by a car last week has lost his fight. #RIPSteven
— DHS Track & Field (@DHSTandF) September 22, 2019
Funeral arrangements were not immediately available.
Crisis counselors will be available Monday at Dover High School and Academy Street School, where Steven’s younger sister, Emily Gomez-Restrepo, is a sixth-grader.
At a prayer vigil Friday outside the hospital, classmates said other people saw the accident happen. Dover Mayor James Dodd said a Birchwood firefighter happened to be at the intersection when the crash happened.
“When the accident happened, a fireman jumped out and ran over to him. He wasn’t alone, he was there holding Steven while the rescuers came,” Dodd said at the vigil.
The Rockaway Police Department has yet to release the accident report, and declined comment Saturday night.
