Beloved Ex-NJ Teacher Dies In Crash With State Trooper On Way To Church

They called Larry Helwig "cool," "funny" and a "motivator." But the prevailing adjective for the New Jersey high school gym teacher was that he was "great."

Even eight years after he retired from Sayreville High School in 2003, people were still going to the "Rate My Teachers" website to say great things about Larry.

And they remembered the great things he said to them, too.

"Do you want to Pay the Price???" one person, writing in 2011, recalled him saying while also describing Helwig as a "great motivator."

Now the remembrances of Larry Helwig will likely come with tears.

Helwig, 72, of Bridgewater was killed in a car crash with a state trooper last weekend while on his way to church, and authorities have yet to reveal the specific circumstances involved in the accident.

The crash happened on Saturday at 7:57 a.m. and involved Trooper Emmanuel Gonzalo, 26, who is assigned to Troop “B” Perryville Station and was driving a marked Ford Crown Victoria troop car westbound on U.S. Highway 22 in Lebanon in Hunterdon County.

Gonzalo had been dispatched to another motor vehicle crash on I-78 in Union Township in Hunterdon County when he was involved in a collision with a GMC Envoy driven by Helwig at the intersection of U.S. 22 and Cokesbury Road.

Helwig was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:35 a.m. His passenger, Jane Roxbury, 67, of Lebanon was airlifted to Morristown Medical Center where she was treated for non-life threatening injuries, according to police. U.S. 22 was shut down for several hours.

Gonzalo was taken to Hunterdon Medical Center where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries and later released. The investigation remains active and ongoing.

Helwig's church paid homage to Helwig on Facebook on Sunday, noting that he had been on his way to an 8 a.m. church service when the accident took place.

Sayreville High School confirmed that Helwig had worked there, but the school said it wasn't prepared to release a statement just yet. On Helwig's Facebook page, he said he also worked at Manville High School.

On the "Rate My Teachers" website, former students of his all gave him high marks, remembering him for a "Pennsylvania Dutch accident" and being a teacher who responded well to them.

"He's the nicest and one of the funniest teachers in school," one person wrote.

"He's cool (because) he's nice and he passed me, even though I didn't do anything," another wrote.

Yet another person praised him for presenting the ultimate gift for a teen.

"He was great and helped me ace my driving test. Yeah!"

Photo courtesy of Kelly‏ on Twitter