Educators honor special education teacher killed in Southeast Valley car crash

The community is remembering 55-year-old Jeff Buchbaum, an educator killed in a crash in the southeast Valley on Friday. Police say Buchbaum was killed when his car was struck by a Hyundai Elantra traveling at a high rate of speed at the intersection of Boulder Highway and Desert Horizons Drive . Buchbaum's wife, Jennifer Boske, was in the passenger seat and says she is still in the hospital. 28-year-old Zachary Zwick was booked on two felony charges of reckless driving and has posted bail. He has a status check on June 23rd. Buchbaum was most recently a special education teacher at Cunningham Elementary School. That's where a picture of Buchbaum was cast on the marquee on Wednesday. Buchbaum was killed in a crash on the last day of class before the start of summer. "All the teachers kind of celebrating that, you know, hey, it's the end of school year now, it's holiday vacation time, and yeah, the timing is just.. it's.. " It's really unfortunate," said Ron Hoffman. Hoffman is also an educator and longtime friend of Buchbaum's. They worked together to help fellow teachers through a social media page. "It really takes, you know, a lot of patience and an angel to be a special ed teacher," said Hoffman of his longtime friend. "And he, you know, always believed that, you know, everyone can learn, everyone deserves that education." Craig Barishman, who is also a CCSD teacher, met Buchbaum at Temple Sinai, where he says Buchbaum was still teaching religious school. "When he was in the room, you just wanted to be a part of the service, you wanted to be a part of community activities that were there," said Barishman. "He just was that type of person; he welcomed you with open arms." Barishman and Hoffman said education and being a community servant were ingrained in Buchbam. The Clark County Education Association, in a memorial post to Buchbaum on Facebook, said that the late educator worked in several roles at schools across CCSD for the past 22 years. That included Mack Middle School, Valley High School, and most recently Cunningham Elementary. "He was looking forward to going out to Boulder to work with, I believe, some disadvantaged youth," said Barishman. "He was really excited for that new opportunity to, you know, just any, any way he could, he could teach kids and support youth education." While being a community servant through education was Buchbaum's joy, his friends say that above all else, he was a family man. He was a father of four children and a husband to Jennifer Boske, who was in the car with him during the accident. "I've never seen a father that was so happy when his children were in the spotlight, when his children were being celebrated," said Barishman. "He always encouraged his children. He made sure his children had a strong foundation." While they show support for Buchbaum's family, they hope their friend gets justice. "I sure hope that the, you know, the system, you know, locks this person up and understands that, you know, this is this was a life that was meaningful and a life that was beautiful and a life that was saving people," said Hoffman. Hoffman and Barishman have set up a GoFundMe to support Buchbaum's family during this difficult time. For anyone who would like to donate, head to https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-jeff-buchbaums-family CCSD, in a statement, confirmed Buchbaum was a special education teacher at Cunningham Elementary and said: "CCSD is saddened to hear of his passing and extends our condolences to his family, as well as the many students and educators impacted by his legacy."