BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) - Schools in Burlington will be closed Tuesday to allow staff and students to attend the funeral of an elementary school principal who died last week in a car crash.
Superintendent Pat Coen said he decided to cancel school so all who wanted to could attend the funeral for Chris Richards, the principal at Black Hawk Elementary. The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. in the Burlington High School gymnasium, the Hawk Eye newspaper reported.
Richards was killed Thursday morning when he attempted to turn from U.S. Highway 61 onto another road and collided with a pickup truck.
On Friday, students and staff wore black and gold to honor Richards, who was an avid fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes. People also gathered Friday night at the crash scene for an unofficial memorial service.
Richards was in his eighth year at Black Hawk and earler worked at another district school for two years.
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