VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Current and former students at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach are helping raise thousands of dollars for a teacher after learning he was injured in a deadly fire over the weekend.
The fire happened early Saturday morning at a home on Heritage Lane in Glen Allen.
Former Richmond Public School principals John Lane and his wife Janet Hall-Lane both died in the fire while their son and grandson escaped.
First Colonial sophomores Brooke Coppola and Bailey Fifield told WTKR they learned the Lane’s son was their beloved freshman math teacher, Jay Lane.
Family friends tell CBS 6 Jay Lane and his 12-year old son both jumped from the second floor of the home. Jay Lane broke his back and will undergo surgery this week, friends said.
The two girls started a GoFundMe Sunday night, which quickly passed its $5,000 goal to help Lane with medical bills thanks to donations from everyone from complete strangers to current and former students.
“He’s a good teacher and he’s always also someone that they trust and feel like they can talk to when they need something. We all feel we should help him because of how much he helped us,” said Coppola.
Another GoFundMe has also been set up for Lane. This one by Aaron Rouse, who first had Lane as a teacher in the 90s. The two have remained close through college, Rouse’s professional football career and now in the hospital.
“He’s doing well, but he’s going to need to get better and that’s where we come in… So we’re going to send him all the support we can,” said Rouse.
He says the family is thankful for all the support they’ve gotten, but they would like some privacy at this time.
Rouse says any cards should be dropped off at First Colonial High School. He plans to take them to Lane on Friday.