Beloved North Bay teacher killed in Highway 12 chain-reaction crash
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Sonoma County is grieving the loss of a beloved teacher and coach, identified by family and friends as the victim killed in a 12-vehicle crash on Highway 12 Thursday.
Pat LaFortune, 78, of Sonoma County, was identified by loved ones Friday.
His wife of 34 years, Noel LaFortune, said that he was returning from swimming when the crash occurred.
He retired in 2019 from Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, after teaching a variety of subjects, including science, math, physical education, and social studies.
His favorite was history, of which he was the department chair for several years. He also coached baseball, and football, and taught driver's education.
Noel LaFortune said he was an Army medic during the Vietnam War, a father to three, and a grandfather to 12. He spent more than 50 years as an educator, 46 of them at Cardinal Newman.
"Forty-six years is the longest-serving teacher we've had in the school's history," said Graham Rutherford, a close friend and the former principal at the school.
Rutherford, who currently teaches at the school, said when he was a freshman at Cardinal Newman, LaFortune began his first year of teaching there and often drove Rutherford to school.
He said LaFortune developed the cross-country team at the school and coached track for decades. In his honor, his name is streaked across the track and on the press box.
His influence spanned thousands of students, even teaching his former student’s children.
"They never doubted he was there for them and that he would help them," said Rutherford.
Noel LaFortune, who met him while they were both teachers at Cardinal Newman, said his greatest accomplishment was getting students to excel past their expectations.
His life was cut short on Thursday just before noon at the intersection of Fulton Road and Highway 12.
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The Santa Rosa Fire Department reported having nearly 30 firefighters on the scene, where 11 vehicles were piled up on the westbound lanes after CHP said the driver of a dump truck failed to stop and rammed into them at a stop light.
The fire department said a pickup truck was fully engulfed with flames and the driver was deceased upon arrival. Noel LaFortune said the driver of the pickup truck was Pat LaFortune.
"It's ironic because he taught a lot of people to drive, he was a very good driver," said Rutherford.
CHP said eight other people were injured and taken to the hospital, three with major injuries.
As the investigation continues, the Cardinal community is keeping his memory alive, with his photo on the wall in the main office.
Noel LaFortune said she is still in shock, but she is grateful to the first responders on the scene who showed her kindness and compassion.
There's no word yet on a memorial service.