A New Jersey community came together to pay tribute to 13-year-old Mu'Zahir Moore, who was killed in a crash in Egg Harbor Township over the weekend.
"He was only 13 years old," Leonard Robinson, Mu'Zahir's uncle, said. "He had a lot of life to live."
Family, friends and many in the South Jersey sports community are remembering Mu'Zahir, who was better known as "Mu."
At 13, his uncle says the teen was making a name for himself on both the basketball court and football field.
"He was looking forward to going to college, going to high school, doing everything young athletes dream about," Robinson said. "He was a bright spot, a very bright spot."
egg-harbor-teen.jpg
JSmart Photography
Crowds of people gathered Tuesday in Atlantic City for a celebration of life.
Mu's coach says that on Saturday afternoon, the eighth grader was getting ready for a basketball tournament. He was walking home with a friend after leaving Bargaintown Park in Egg Harbor Township. Police said a 71-year-old driver swerved to avoid another car near Delaware and Fernwood avenues, when he lost control, overturned and struck the teens on the grass shoulder.
Mu died from his injuries at the hospital. His friend suffered minor injuries and was treated on the scene.
"He was dominant. He was special on and off the field, on and off the basketball court," Tory Cavalieri, with the South Jersey Select Basketball program, said, "but he had something about him that every teacher and every coach who has coached him would tell you the same thing, his smile was contagious and his work ethic was second to none."
Cavalieri said he coached Mu since third grade.
"His name was out there to scouts and coaches who already were keeping an eye on that eighth-grade class," Cavalieri said.
mu-moore.jpg
CBS News Philadelphia
"He was a wonderful kid, modest, gentle, respectable, like a perfect child," Shanee Muhammad said.
Mu was also part of the Pleasantville Jokers Youth Football league.
On Sunday, Muhammad helped organize a community vigil in Mu's honor. Muhammad said teams and coaches from across the area showed up to support his family.
Now, both his basketball and football coaches said they will retire his jersey Nos. 4 and 1 as another way to honor his impact in the community.
"Any ball he put his hands on, he was just going to conquer the moment," Muhammad said.
Police said the crash remains under investigation.
Ryan Hughes
Ryan Hughes joined CBS News Philadelphia in June 2022. He previously worked at WPTV in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he's covered stories ranging from weeks on the Surfside condo collapse, to the impact of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, and the Super Bowl in Miami.