Motz said the mood around the school had been “cautiously optimistic” that Le would pull through.
“We don’t talk about faith, we practice it,” Motz said. “The students lifted him in prayer every day.”
All of the school’s counselors will be on hand Friday to help students, coaches and faculty address their grief, Motz said.
According to the Fairfield Police Department’s preliminary accident report, Portia Hudson, 58, of Hamilton, was traveling north on Ohio 4 in the left lane while Le was standing at the northeast corner of the intersection waiting to cross at the marked crosswalk.
“The pedestrian then began to run across Dixie Highway when (the vehicle) ran the red light and struck the pedestrian,” according to the report.
Le was thrown into the windshield, then over top of the Hudson’s vehicle and landed in the roadway. He was transported by helicopter to University Hospital in Cincinnati, where he had been in a coma.
Last week, an e-mail was sent to parents from St. Xavier Principal David Mueller stating that Le “sustained severe injuries, including injuries to his head, limbs and vital organs.”
Motz described Le as “a nice kid” and saw him a lot over the summer with his brother working on the custodial crew at the school.
“He and his brother were always smiling,” Motz said. “It’s a deep loss — it’s tragic.”
He said Le “was a known commodity” around the school and was a member of the wrestling team, the X Men Chorus and Something Blue Chorus, an audition-only group.
Motz said Le also applied recently to be a student sports information director for the wrestling team and was an honor roll student.
Le had an older brother, Bryan, who graduated from St. Xavier in 2009, and two younger brothers, Phillip, who is a sophomore at the school, and David, a sixth-grader.
Motz said he believes the last time the 178-year-old school with an enrollment of more than 1,500 suffered the loss of a student was more than 20 years ago.
No funeral information was available Thursday night from Le’s family, Motz said.
No information was available Thursday from Fairfield police on the status of its investigation, and no charges had been filed.
Staff Writer Michael D. Pitman contributed to this report.
About the Author
