Funeral plans released for teacher, coach fatally injured in ATV accident | Schools

INDIAN LAND - Funeral plans have been released for an Indian Land Elementary school teacher who died after he was injured in an ATV accident over the weekend.

According to the Lancaster County School District, Physical Education teacher Mike Kersey at Indian Land Elementary School died Tuesday afternoon at the hospital. School officials say he was injured while riding an ATV at his home on Saturday evening.

Kersey suffered a severe head injury just before 6 p.m. on Saturday when he was thrown from the ATV at his home on Dirt Road in the Van Wyck community. He was hospitalized until he died on Tuesday afternoon from his injuries.

Visitation will held for Kersey's family at Hartley Funeral Home in Lancaster from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday evening.  Funeral services will be held on Saturday afternoon at Covenant Baptist Church, starting at 2 p.m. Burial will follow the service at Antioch Baptist Church on Taxahaw Road.

Beth Blum, principal at Indian Land Elementary School, says Kersey was an outstanding teacher and his impact on the Indian Land community was huge.

“Mike is such an integral part of this community," Blum told WBTV. "And this school it’s been a shock and a heart break to all of us.”

Kersey was working to get a track built at Indian Land Elementary for several years.  Blum says the school is going to work in Kersey's honor to try and punch that forward.

“Fitness was such a big part of his life," Blum said. "So we’re going to make sure that track happens and name it after him.”

Kersey taught in the Lancaster School District for 17 years and also helped coach Indian Land Middle and High School's wrestling teams. He started his career as a P.E. teacher and wrestling coach at Lancaster High School.

Students that Kersey taught in his beginning years have since grown up, some of them have children of their own that he has taught.  Others were so influence by his teaching that they became teachers and coaches as well.

“The influence he had on me was to become a teacher and be successful in life,” said Teaching Assistant Xavier Kee.

Kee was a former student of Kersey's and helped him with "Fit Kids," an after school program that Kersey started.

Grief counselors were at Indian Land Elementary School on Wednesday to help students cope with the loss of their teacher and coach.

“He was very nice and kind and helpful and he [pause] and just helped us through tough times," 5th grader Bailey Sizemore told WBTV.  Sizemore had been a student of Kersey for six years, since she was in Kindergarten.

Kersey was married and leaves behind a wife and 3 children.

This is the second sudden death in just a week for the Lancaster County School District.

Previous article: High school football player, hit and killed by car, honored at varsity game

Last Thursday, 14 year old Seth Muennich was hit and killed by a car while crossing in front of Buford Middle School.