Classes at Scarborough High School were canceled Monday after an assistant principal and youth hockey coach died in a car crash over the weekend.

Friends and mentors remembered Jake Brown, a Lewiston native, as a hard worker who always gave his all, a hockey fanatic who devoted himself to the game and a loving husband who lived to make his wife laugh.

Brown, 34, of Scarborough, died in a crash after fleeing a traffic stop along Interstate 295 in Cumberland on Saturday night, Maine State Police said in a statement Monday morning.

Brown was pulled over in Yarmouth after Bangor 911 dispatchers received multiple calls about a vehicle driving erratically, police said. A spokesperson for state police said Brown drove off “at a high rate of speed” and that troopers pursued him.

He eventually veered off the road near Cumberland, and his Jeep Wrangler became engulfed in flames. Brown, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead shortly after. The investigation is ongoing, police said, but a preliminary analysis indicates that speed and alcohol factored into the crash.

In addition to his role as assistant principal, Brown also previously served as a hockey coach and assistant athletic director at Scarborough, according to a letter to the school community Sunday announcing his death.

“I know that the people of Scarborough loved him,” said Norm Gagne, a longtime boys hockey coach who mentored Brown over the years. “He moved up the ranks, as a teacher, to athletic director at the junior high and then moving up to assistant principal. He was just an outstanding person.”

“I think that his dealings with people was his biggest attribute, that he knew how to communicate,” Gagne added. “That’s what I loved about Jake.”

Brown also coached a youth hockey team in Biddeford and had been a star player at Lewiston High School.

“He’s had a positive impact on thousands of students and student athletes in Scarborough, Lewiston, Maine and beyond,” said Jamie Belleau, a former coach of the Lewiston hockey team. “There are not enough words to describe the positive impact he had on this community.”

Scarborough High Principal Nathan Theriault said in the letter to students that they will have a modified schedule for the next few days “to give us space to come together as a community and support one another.”

The school opened Monday for students to take part in counseling and activities with peers. On Tuesday, there will be a two-hour delay before regular classes resume.

‘HE CARED A LOT’

In addition to his career as an educator, Brown was a dedicated hockey player and coach. 

“He cared a lot about what he did,” said Jake Rutt, who coached with Brown under the Biddeford Youth Hockey Association. “There was no half-assing it. He always wanted to do things 100%, and that energy and mindset was very contagious.”

Gagne remembered Brown as an eager 15-year-old when he was vying for varsity minutes as a member of the Lewiston Blue Devils team.

“He was a great teammate,” he said. “He was somewhat of a little comedian sometimes.” But Brown was also a “student of the game,” Gagne recalled, often spending time reviewing film before games and immersing himself in the strategy.

That hard work paid off. As a star defenseman for Lewiston, Brown played in three championship games. He earned second team all-state honors in his sophomore season, then first team all-conference and first team all-state honors in his junior season.

“I remember him being very, very, very hard to play against,” Rutt said. “He was an impactful player.”

Brown began his coaching career under Gagne’s mentorship, starting out as an assistant coach at Scarborough after his first year of college at St. Joseph’s.

Gagne saw his potential right away.

“I let him run the lines for my last couple of years because I wanted him to get a feel for doing that,” he said.

Brown took over as head coach in 2017, and Gagne knew that the program was in good hands.

“I loved him like a son,” he said.

Brown continued to bring his intensity and care to the ice.

“His team always had the identity of playing very hard,” Rutt said. “Not only did his teams buy into the game plan and what they were trying to accomplish, but it was always a very tight-knit group that he was able to foster in every locker room that he coached.”

During their time sharing the ice as coaches for the Biddeford Youth Hockey Association, Rutt said he was impressed by the thought that Brown put into the practices he designed for the 18U team.

“A lot of people give a lot of time and effort into coaching that sport, and he wanted to give back,” Rutt said.

Belleau, who watched Brown grow from a high school senior captain into one of the state’s best hockey coaches, said the outpouring from the community speaks to the connections Brown built on and off the ice.

“He was a special kid. I was so proud of him,” Belleau said. “The loss is unbearable.”

A LOVING SPOUSE

Brown was also a caring husband — something his wife‘s friends always noticed.

Jillian St. Louis, the owner of Scarborough seafood restaurant Ken’s Place, worked with and then became close friends with Lauren Brown and remembers hearing stories from when she and Jake began to date.

“She was smitten from the get-go,” St. Louis said. “I think she knew in her heart that he was going to be the guy for her the moment she met him.”

Lindsay Anderson, a friend of Lauren Brown’s from elementary school, said her friend “was definitely struck by his humor. He always made her laugh.”

“Jake’s generosity, kindness and love for life were matched by quick wit and playful humor that could light up any room,” Anderson added.

At their wedding, St. Louis remembered that Jake Brown was “super anxious to show off his new bride.” And she remembered many toasts that described him as a role model for the community.

Years later, as the pair frequented Ken’s Place, St. Louis said “they were just always very loving and very attentive toward one another.”

“Jake was a really fun, caring, loving guy,” she said. “He really, really loved Lauren, and they were starting to build a really beautiful life together.”