Lamar McKnight was one among the six lives that were tragically lost late Friday night in Newark, New Jersey. The car crash took place when their vehicle plunged off an overpass, struck a Pulaski Skyway support column midair, and erupted into flames, authorities reported.
All six occupants of the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene. Among them were Darryl McKnight, 33, who had recently begun a new job with the state; Lamar McKnight, 32, the head football coach at Hudson Catholic Regional High School; and former Rutgers player Brad Cunningham, as reported by The Knight Report.
Who was Lamar McKnight?
Lamar McKnight was the head football coach at Hudson Catholic and a quarterback specialist. He was also the founder of Quarterback Academy. According to their Instagram bio, Quarterback Academy created over 30 quarterbacks (QBs) who played in NCAA college football programs and leagues like the NFL or achieved significant collegiate success since 2018.
He was appointed as head coach at Hudson Catholic a year back, before which he was with Union City for what he described as '8 amazing years.'
Lamar McKnight dedicated himself to developing quarterbacks at all levels, from youth athletes to professionals. According to QB Magazine, since 2018, he has successfully guided numerous QBs to college programs, with placements at top schools such as Purdue, Penn State, NC State, Illinois, Maryland, Northwestern, Rutgers, Princeton, Harvard, Liberty, UConn, and others across all divisions of college football.
Known for his commitment to staying sharp and expanding his expertise, Lamar McKnight regularly attended high-profile events like the NFL Scouting Combine, Elite 11 Regionals, PSR Combine, Roman's Soldier's Showcase, and NUC competitions in New Jersey, where elite quarterbacks showcase their talent.
Lamar McKnight's brother Darryl McKnight was also killed in the crash
According to CBS News, Natasha McKnight, the mother of Lamar and Darryl McKnight, shared heartfelt reflections about losing both her sons. She described them as her 'heart' and 'everything,' emphasizing the joy and laughter they brought to everyone around them.
Natasha also spoke of her intuition that something was wrong when her sons' phones were inactive for an unusual amount of time, leading her to discover the tragic news. She said:
"I check my kids' location all day, all night, every day. And those two never turn them off. So when I noticed that, I looked at one of them and the other one was like, the phone was right next to his. I knew something, and it was there for too many hours. So I started to worry,"
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"I drove to and found out on social media that it was an accident ... And you see my son's bumper, and that's how I was able to identify that they were in that car."
Despite her grief, she expressed a wish for the community and the youth her sons mentored to carry on their legacy by pursuing education and sports.
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