Traffic-accident victim recalled as beloved coach and guidance counselor at Sterling

Jim Walsh, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·1 min read

MOUNT LAUREL - A regional high school community is mourning the loss of a beloved counselor and coach in a traffic accident here.

William Scully, 49, was fatally struck Tuesday night as he exited his vehicle on the shoulder of southbound Interstate 295 in Mount Laurel, according to New Jersey State Police.

Scully was a guidance counselor and coached boys and girls volleyball at Sterling Regional High School in Camden County.

"We will miss him more than words can express," Sterling Superintendent Matthew Sheehan said in a statement.

"Our deepest sympathies to the Scully family and the Sterling community as we mourn the loss of Mr. Scully," he added.

Sterling serves students from Hi-Nella, Laurel Springs, Magnolia, Somerdale and Stratford. It has a campus in Somerdale.

Scully's death was mourned in multiple social-media posts.

The counselor and coach “will be missed by every student and parent that were lucky enough to have known him,” Stratford resident Stacey Hankins-Burdash said in a Facebook post Wednesday.

In another post, the Stratford Republic Club noted the loss of “a teacher, guidance counselor and coach.”

And the volleyball program at Collingswood High School expressed its "deepest sympathies (to Sterling's volleyball teams) on the passing of their coach."

Sterling Principal Jarod Claybourn on Wednesday tweeted “UKnighted as a School Community." The message was accompanied by an emoji of hands folded in prayer.

Scully's vehicle was struck by a southbound car that entered the highway's shoulder near milepost 39.2, according to police. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

The second driver, identified only as a 19-year-old Sicklerville man, had minor injuries.

The accident is under investigation, police said.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Sterling teacher William Scully mourned after fatal traffic accident