Crime & Safety

Canton Teacher Killed in Sunday Crash on Route 9

The accident that claimed the life of Canton High English teacher Jaclyn King, 25, happened Sunday around 4 p.m. on Route 9 North just past Exit 11.

A second-year English teacher at Canton High School died in a car crash on Route 9 in Middletown on Sunday. 

Jaclyn King, 25, known as M. Jack King, taught ninth- and 11th-grade English at the school. 

"Ms. King was by far my favorite English teacher,” said student Nicholas Isola. “Her age allowed her to associate herself with the students and interact with us better than any other teacher. She inspired many of us to see the other side of English class, not just the negatives."

Find out what's happening in Middletownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Isola said King was inspired by the work of Henry David Thoreau and taught Freud “theories” as well. 

"She went against the grain with her teaching, but it opened up my world far more than any other class I had with her,” he said. 

Find out what's happening in Middletownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Superintendent Kevin Case said King had a great passion and enthusiasm for teaching. She was a positive influence on students and staff, he said. 

“Her death is such a great loss for the Canton High School community,” Case said. 

School counselors and psychologists are on hand this morning to help students and staff, he said. 

Tim Brown, a Collinsville resident and photographer, said King was a great teacher, friend and artist, who painted, worked craft-based projects and much more. 

"She enjoyed life; she enjoyed her art, creating pieces large and small, designing and creating her own clothes. And more importantly than that, she touched the soul of my son and so many other kids as a wonderful unique and rule-bending teacher,” Brown said. "She’ll be missed.”

According to state police, King was driving a 1986 Pontiac Fiero north on Route 9 just past Exit 11 in Middletown around 4 p.m. Sunday when the car veered off the road, hit a light pole and rolled over.  Police are investigating and witnesses are encouraged to call Trooper James Matlock at Troop F, 860-399-2100.

Police listed King's address as Waterford, but friends said she had an apartment in Collinsville. 

King has a master of arts in education, curriculum and instruction from the University of Connecticut NEAG School of Education, according to her school Web page. She also had a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and had studied Scandinavian history at Linkoping University in Sweden. 

The death is the second at the school in just weeks. Paul Kalasnik passed away April 19 after a battle with cancer. Just last week, the school held a memorial service for “Mr. K,” who also taught English for many years and was most recently the school’s study study center coordinator. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Middletown