A family in Palm Beach County is mourning the loss of a beloved teacher in Palm Beach County after she was struck by a car outside a Wellington community.
Toshimi Abe-Janiga was killed in a hit and run outside of the Lakefield community in Wellington early Monday, according to the Palm Beach Sheriff's office.
Originally from Japan, Abe-Janiga is remembered not only as the county’s 2021 Teacher of the Year, but as an educator who tried to expand the minds of her students. She taught English, Black history and Holocaust studies to predominantly Black students at Riviera Beach Preparatory and Achievement Academy.
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"You have to leave the community. You have to leave your city. You have to leave your state. You will see the good parts and the bad parts. You can improve if you know both," Abe-Janiga said during a 2021 interview with WLRN, discussing the importance of cross-cultural education.
PBSO says the investigation is focused on finding the driver of the car that struck Abe-Janiga as she crossed the intersection, and then fled the scene.
Fatal Hit-and-Run in Wellington 🚨
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) December 9, 2024
Early this morning, a tragic hit-and-run occurred at the intersection of Aero Club Drive and South Club Drive. A pedestrian was fatally struck while crossing the intersection, and the vehicle involved fled the scene. The investigation is… pic.twitter.com/6YCptNZf6D
Abe-Janiga would have turned 63 this week.
In the early 1990s, when Abe-Janiga arrived in the states, she developed international study abroad programs and coordinated ESL classes at Lynn University until she joined the alternative education system.
The Holocaust studies elective at the alternative high school was first taught by Brian Knowles, Manager of African, African American, Latino, Holocaust and Gender Studies for the School District of Palm Beach County, until Abe-Janiga took the mantle.
She told WLRN her students, who were typically from under-resourced, low-income communities, are able to understand anti-semitism and the history of systematic persecution.
“When I break it down and they really understand because they face systematic struggle every single day,” Abe-Janiga said. “So I think I'm lucky that I can teach the Holocaust at this school because they know what the pain is.”
Abe-Janiga says when she won the Teacher of the Year award, her students held the trophy like they had won. It felt like a “family win.”
Officials say the hit-and-run occurred at the intersection of Aero Club Drive and South Club Drive. People with any information about the crime, call PBSO or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS
