Limerick Crash Victim Taught Spring-Ford Area Students

The 60-year-old Spring City man killed when his vehicle crashed into vehicles in a Limerick car dealership lot on Wednesday was a teacher at the Western Montgomery County Career and Technology Center, according to the Spring-Ford Area School District.

Stephen Bruno was an automotive technology teacher at the center, located at 77 Graterford Road in Limerick, according to the center’s faculty directory. The Pottsgrove, Spring-Ford and Upper Perkiomen school districts send students to the center.

Spring-Ford Area School District Superintendent David Goodin confirmed that he taught at the center.

“The District offers its deepest sympathies to Mr. Stephen Bruno’s friends and family. We were saddened to hear of his passing,” Goodin said in a statement. “He was a beloved teacher among our Western Montgomery Automotive Technology students. For those students trying to deal with this tragedy, counseling is available.”

The accident occurred around 3:30 on Thursday, when Bruno was driving a red Mercury Mountaineer that made a sharp turn into the parking lot of Piazza Honda, located on the 600 block of N. Lewis Road.

Bruno’s vehicle launched off a snow bank in the dealership’s parking lot and struck several cars, sheering of the roof of a Honda when it landed.  Bruno was taken via Trappe ambulance to Pottstown Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived.

Students took to Twitter on Friday after hearing the news; some used the hashtag #ripmrbruno.

“Still can’t believe the car crash in the parking lot of Honda was my tech teacher #ripmrbruno,” said Josh Warfel on Twitter.

Readers also responded on Patch's Facebook page.

“He was a cool and great teacher,” said Melanie Vanderveur Bailey, who added that Bruno taught her son..  “I know he had a wife, he would show them how to do stuff on her car. 

"Great guy, talked to him at open house, he really cared for those kids and wanted to make learning fun.”