‘A standout kid’: Charter school remembers boy killed in e-scooter crash
Hundreds packed the stands at an east Las Vegas charter school’s football field Wednesday night to remember a 12-year-old boy who was killed while riding an electric scooter.
Jovonn Magee-Thomas was a “kind and loving” young man as well as a scholar and an exceptional athlete in multiple sports, said Renee Fairless, the lead principal for Mater Academies in Las Vegas, in a vigil Wednesday night at Mater Academy East Las Vegas, where Magee-Thomas was a student.
“I know JoJo would be so grateful to have all of you here tonight to support his family,” said Fairless, referring to Magee-Thomas by his nickname.
Fairless said a memorial bench with Magee-Thomas’ name would be placed at the school. She also said his flag football jersey number, 8, would be retired by the school.
Magee-Thomas was fatally hit by a Ford van while riding an electric scooter Sunday morning. The Metropolitan Police Department said he died at the scene.
At the east valley intersection of Tully Avenue and Hidden Desert Way, where Magee-Thomas was struck, community members had also set up a memorial that includes stuffed animals, bouquets of flowers, dozens of prayer candles and a photo collage of Magee-Thomas.
The intersection, near East Bonanza and North Sandhill roads, is less than a block away from Mater Academy East.
Fairless said she had known Magee-Thomas since he was just 11 months old because of her close relationship with his mother, who had enrolled Magee-Thomas’ older siblings in Mater schools. In her 41 years in education, Fairless said, she had never seen a kid that was as well-liked by a whole school as Magee-Thomas.
“He was nice to everybody, he was funny,” Fairless said. “He just was loving and kind. He never went past me and didn’t give me a hug. And you’d see him that way with everybody.”
To help raise funds for Magee-Thomas’ family, Fairless said the school will begin selling $25 black T-shirts containing a silhouette of Magee-Thomas with outstretched arms that read “Show love like Jojo.” All the money raised from shirt sales will go to Magee-Thomas’ family, Fairless said.
Shamika Abbott, a U.S. history teacher at Mater Academy East, was Magee-Thomas’ first grade teacher at Mater Academy’s Mountain Vista campus. He would lovingly refer to her as his “titi,” short for auntie.
“I think because we work so hard to make it a family … to lose one of ours the way we did is just heartbreaking,” she said.
Promising athlete
Those who knew Magee-Thomas at Mater Academy East remembered his competitive spirit and love for all things sports, traits they said were inspired partly by his athletic older siblings.
After classes let out on Tuesday, head wrestling instructor Zack Brewer said he first met Magee-Thomas at a wrestling tryout about two years ago and knew right away that Magee-Thomas was “a standout kid.”
“He was just one of the kids that you loved having around,” Brewer said. “Always ready to do the moves, always ready to practice hard. He was just a great kid.”
Magee-Thomas played flag football at the school and wrestled, learning under Brewer’s guidance. While coaching him throughout the years, Brewer said he saw Magee-Thomas as the top wrestling prospect in his grade at the school. Inside Magee-Thomas was an athlete ready to tap into his full potential come high school, Brewer said.
“We still were just scratching the surface. We didn’t really know what he could do in the future, but he showed a lot of promise,” Brewer said.
Though he wasn’t the biggest kid — Fairless said she’d be shocked if he weighed 100 pounds — Magee-Thomas came in first place for his weight class at the school’s wrestling tournament in August, an achievement Brewer said surprised even himself.
“He was on his way to doing great things, whether it was wrestling, football, or just whatever he did in life,” Brewer said. “It’s just really sad to see him go.”
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.