WEST PARK, Fla. – Some West Park Preparatory School students were in tears Thursday afternoon when they learned a driver had run over their beloved mentor -- killing him in a Broward County street.
The driver of a Dodge Charger ran over Jovan Rembert and kept on going before circling back to the scene of the fatal crash on Hallandale Beach Drive near Southwest 40th Avenue, witnesses said.
“He was a great member of the community,” Felicia M. Brunson, a city of West Park commissioner, said about Rembert, who was the head of the West Park Preparatory School.
Distraught relatives said Rembert, who was always willing to help others, was rushing to the aid of someone who had been involved in a fender-bender crash nearby.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue personnel pronounced Rembert dead at the scene. The Dodge Charger’s driver’s side windshield and front bumper were heavily damaged during the impact.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies closed the area of Hallandale Beach Boulevard to investigate the fatal crash about six blocks away from the private school he founded and ran at 2201 SW 42 Ave.
“This is a tremendous loss for West Park Preparatory School and our community,” West Park Preparatory School staff members said in a statement. “Dr. Rembert was an amazing family man, father, minister, principal and friend. He treated all those who he met with compassion and love. As our hearts grieve his loss, we will pull together in prayer while comforting and supporting one another. We are sure his legacy of being a servant leader will live on in the lives of those he touched. #EMBRACEEQUIPEMPOWER.”