FORTVILLE — He was the kind of teacher who was always quick with a smile, a beloved member of the Mt. Vernon family.
The Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation is mourning the death of Adam Bisesi, a seventh-grade teacher at Mt. Vernon Middle School who was killed Tuesday in an accident in Carmel.
Bisesi, 35, Indianapolis, died after being struck and killed on U.S. 31 at approximately 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, law enforcement said.
Officials from the Carmel Police Department responded to an accident on the northbound exit ramp to 146th Street and 151st Street and found one vehicle and one pedestrian involved in a crash.
Based on the preliminary investigation, police said in a news release, it appears Bisesi walked into the roadway in the path of a dump truck. The driver of the truck was unable to stop and struck him, law enforcement officials said. Bisesi was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was described as a special teacher who had a way of reaching students.
Trey Frank’s daughter, Emma, is a seventh-grader at Mt. Vernon Middle School who is in Bisesi’s class. Frank recalled meeting him at a back-to-school night at the beginning of the year. The parent could tell the teacher was passionate about educating kids.
“You could see the electricity coming out of him,” Frank said.
He called Bisesi “incredible.” Emma hated reading and English up until having Bisesi for a teacher, Frank said. Now, she enjoys and excels at both.
“We don’t know what he did, but he got her to read,” Frank said. “…She was getting A’s in that class, and if she got a B, she felt like she was letting him down.”
Frank said from what his daughter has said about him, Bisesi inspired the same enjoyment of reading and English in a lot of students.
Barry Stadler’s daughter, Julia, is a freshman at Mt. Vernon High School and was in Bisesi’s class a couple of years ago.
“From my daughter’s perspective, he was just a very fun, well-liked teacher that really seemed to definitely be a favorite among the students,” Stadler said.
Stadler said his youngest daughter, Genevieve, is a fifth-grader and was looking forward to having Bisesi as a teacher when she got to middle school. She followed Bisesi on the social media network Instagram and showed her father videos the teacher posted from his classroom.
“He was just a very creative teacher that I think the students really appreciated,” Stadler said.
Erin Flick’s son, a Mt. Vernon sophomore, had Bisesi for seventh-grade English and as a track coach. Flick’s daughter, an eighth-grader, was never in Bisesi’s class but was a member of the middle school’s Newspaper Club that he led.
“He really connected with the children in the classroom and then out of school just as a coach and a general mentor,” Flick said. “Just a very, very good guy.”
Flick remembered how Bisesi always had his young newspaper writers covering a different topic from edition to edition.
“He just really encouraged them to consider all aspects of their writing,” Flick said.
Police consider the incident still under investigation. It’s unclear if Bisesi had a vehicle at the scene or was walking. The U.S. 31 northbound exit ramp to 146th Street and 151st Street was closed for several hours while accident investigators from the Carmel Police Department were on the scene.
Meanwhile, after Mt. Vernon officials learned what had happened, they activated their crisis response team on Wednesday and made available several counselors for students and staff. Other counselors from the district’s community partners will be on hand if needed.
“He will be missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him,” said Maria Bond, director of public relations, in a news release. “This is a difficult time for all, and we need to support each other and help those who need assistance.”
