Students mourn beloved football coach killed in accident in the Bronx
THE BRONX (WABC) -- Football season is over now, but lots of tears were shed this weekend for a beloved coach who was killed in a terrible accident.
Dwight Downer, 60, coached football with the Bronx Buccaneers and with DeWitt Clinton High School.
Students say Coach Downer was tough, but underneath that tough exterior he was all heart.
"You know, he was never really easy on us because you want to bring out the best in all of us," said 13-year-old Quarterback Manny Lora.
On midnight going into Saturday morning, Coach Downer had just parked his car at the intersection of Givan Ave and Eastchester Road in the Bronx. He got out of his vehicle to walk home when he was fatally struck by another car.
Immediately, heartache spread throughout the teams that he coached, with young players now grief-stricken. The man who made them do push-ups and strive to be a better person is now gone.
"It's more about raising young men than it is having them play football. Anybody can play football, you know? But everybody can't grow to be, you know, a successful young man and be a productive member of society. And that's what we wanted them to be," said Bronx Buccaneers President Keith Spivey.
Coach Downer volunteered with the Bronx Buccaneers, a youth football program in the Norwood section of the Bronx. He also volunteered at DeWitt Clinton High School - he trained and mentored boys not just on the field but for life.
"Everything I learned from him - just be a better person, be a better individual," said 14-year-old Khalil Crawford.
Downer was a former correction officer. His ultimate end game was to make sure none of his players ended up on the wrong side of the bars.
"He would do anything for them, not only during practice time, but off practice time. HE would just be available to them. He would call them whenever they needed - he was devoted to them," said Downer's partner, Tasha Andrews.
He worked the players hard, but he also celebrated them. Every year, he would throw a BBQ for the kids going to college.
The big-hearted coach left behind a rich legacy.
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