Remembering Tony Nguyen

Remembering Tony Nguyen

By Joe Roetz

Tony Nguyen was supposed to start the 6th grade next month at Salem Hyde Elementary School. Nguyen's principal, Octavia Wilcox and his teachers spent Wednesday Night looking back. Wilcox says, "He was a lot of the kid's friend. He was quiet but warm inside. I can just see his face and his glasses kind of hung over."

Firefighters rescued Nguyen and his mother, 38-year-old Linh Nguyen from a raging fire in their Carbon Street home just after 2:30 Wednesday Morning. Tony and his mother Linh were transported University Hopsital. The 12-year-old died hours later. Three others made it out safely and fire investigators say there were no working smoke detectors inside the house.

Teachers at Salem Hyde most remember the 6th grader's positive attitude, despite dealing with serious health issues. John Ciero, Tony's former teacher, says "It always amazed me that with his health problems he went out of his way to see how everyone else was feeling, even though he wasn't feeling that great."

School officials are meeting tomorrow. They'll begin to plan counciling for students and staff at Salem Hyde elementary, as well as an outreach for the community. Ciero says, "Just remember how Tony was others, and that's a lesson for all of you. If you can take anything that Tony's taught you, is the way he cared about other people. What Tony's brought to everyone, it's a wonderful lesson for all of us."

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