Amherst, NY (WBEN) Amherst Police have identified the driver killed in Monday's crash at the former Abbey Square.
20 year old Matthew Mayer of Tonawanda died when his car left Union Road, struck a utility pole before hitting the former Abbey Square building.
The car and building went on fire shortly after the collision.
The cause remains under investigation.
Canisius High School confirmed Mayer's death and posted on its Facebook page:
"We mourn the loss of Mayer, who was entering his junior year at the University of Dayton in Ohio. He passed suddenly and tragically in a car accident Monday morning. He was 20."Matt was much beloved at Canisius by faculty, coaches, and classmates alike,” said President Fr. David Ciancimino, S.J. "He was an excellent student and a fine athlete. Though quiet by nature, he had a wonderful sense of humor and a great smile. "Above all, Matt was a genuinely kind and remarkable young man. He embodied the high ideals of his Jesuit education. He will be remembered with great affection and will be deeply missed. Our hearts ache for his family.” At CHS, Mayer was a member of the soccer team and was inducted into Canisius' Robert Bellarmine Chapter of the National Honor Society. He was an All-Western New York Scholar Athlete Honorable Mention for Fall 2023.Mayer, of the Town of Tonawanda, was in Dayton’s honors program, studying finance and accounting. A memorial to Mayer is displayed at Dayton's Chapel of the Immaculate Conception and the university said a gathering will take place when students and faculty return to campus in the fall. Our hearts go out to parents Lisa and Tom ’87, brother Joe ’22, uncles Bob ’77, Jim ’76 and Mike ’75 and all of Matthew’s family and friends. Arrangements have not yet been announced."
