ANDERSON, Ind. — Former basketball players have been remembering Coach Lee Ingles who was killed in a fiery crash on I-69 near Anderson Monday afternoon.
"You couldn't name a more perfect mentor," Simon Underwood said. "He would tell the players that he was there to make good young men, not to make good basketball players. That was his first priority."
"I've done several papers in high school and college about things he has taught me, work ethic and being a better person," Dylan Gaskill said.
"He had joy and that's something I really hope sometime in my life I find that level of fulfillment," Noah Harrington said.
Harrington graduated from Cowan in 2019 and serves as a basketball coach under Ingles. He attended a team meeting Tuesday afternoon as players mourned the loss.
"It really hurts the seniors who went through three years with him and were getting ready for the fourth," Harrington said.
Coach Ingles came to the Delaware County school in 2014.
"It didn't matter if you were a player or athlete, he had a pretty good connection with mostly every student he had. The year before he came they were a one-win team. It was a really rough time," Gaskill explained.
His transformation paid off by the 2018-2019 season.
"We ended the season as sectional champions for the first time since 1976," said Cowan Community Schools Athletic Director Suzanne Crump. "He was a man of integrity and our athletes looked up to him as a father figure, as a coach, and as a friend. He was all of that and more to a lot of students and athletes."
Current and former students returned to the school on Tuesday.
"We're a small district of about 800 students and 50 teachers in our district so we did not have class today for our junior-senior high school, our 7-12 building, and we opened that up to our students and staff to be able to grieve," said Superintendent Timothy Brown.
That's something leaders say they'll take one day at a time.
"Grieving is hard for adults, let alone 13, 14, 15-year-old students who haven't necessarily walked through something like this," said Principal Patrick Bloom.
Cowan Community Schools also shared the following statement with 13News:
"Cowan Community Schools is heartbroken with the tragic passing of beloved teacher, coach, mentor, and friend Mr. Ingles. He was an extremely popular teacher that had an amazing impact on the lives of countless students in our small community. The entire Cowan Community grieves with his family during this difficult time. We are working together to support our entire school community at this time."
Indiana State Police continue to investigate and are asking for anyone who may have witnessed the crash to please come forward. Call the ISP Pendleton Post at (800) 527-4752 for Detective Mark Hanna.
Statements can also be made in person at the post, located at 10922 S. S.R. 67.