Weeks before graduation, a Hudson Valley high school senior lost his life in a car crash. Washingtonville High School 12th-grade student John West III died suddenly on Wednesday, Washingtonville High School Brian T. Connolly said on the school's website.

According to social media posts, West died following a car crash in Blooming Grove.

"Everyone who knew John West III knew that he was one the most genuinely nice and funny people you would ever meet. He was a great kid and was taken way to soon only a few weeks before graduation," Jonathan Saltz wrote in a GoFundMe he set up to help pay for West's funeral expenses.

A Crisis Intervention Team made up of professionals trained to help with the needs of students, parents and school personnel at difficult times is available to the Washingtonville community, according to Connolly.

As of this writing, the GoFundMe raised over $22,000 in less than 24 hours.

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