For Robert Taylor, the death of Clark resident and 2002 Arthur L. Johnson High School graduate Mark Costa in a car accident Saturday was a tragedy on many levels.

Foremost in the ALJ principal's mind in an interview Tuesday, however, were the prospects for a promising life cut short when the truck the 21-year-old Montclair State University student was riding in struck a tree on Martine Avenue in Scotch Plains shortly before noon.

"He was just a good-natured guy with a lot of possibilities," Taylor said. "It's hard to even think about... He had such tremendous possibility."

According to Scotch Plains Detective Lt. Brian Donnelly, Costa was riding in the front passenger seat of an extended cab Dodge pickup truck driven by Ed Hamilton, 21 of Linden, with another passenger, 22-year-old Anthony Branham, of Rahway. The trio were returning to Clark from a park in Scotch Plains, Donnelly said, and crashed after entering the extension of the road that cuts through the Ash Brook Reservation.

Though Donnelly said the accident is still under investigation, preliminary reports indicate that the truck - travelling in the left-hand southbound lane - had a minor collision with a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction. "They clipped mirrors," Donnelly said. However, Hamilton evidently overcompensated for the brush, Donnelly said, and swerved into a tree on the right side of the road.

The truck struck the tree at the right passenger door, killing Costa - who was pronounced dead at the scene - and injuring Hamilton and Branham, both of whom were taken to Robert Wood University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment. Hamilton was released, but Branham suffered fractures and was still hospitalized as of press time Tuesday, according to Donnelly.

The driver of the other vehicle - which sustained minimal damage - was not injured, Donnelly said.

He added that there was no indication that alcohol or drug use was a factor in the accident. At ALJ Tuesday, Costa was remembered as warm, unique student who brought a smile to the face of fellow students and faculty alike.

Taylor called Costa - a middle child who distinguished himself as an honors student, a member of the track and swim teams and served as class president during his four years at ALJ - "a bright light in our school."

An emotional Ed Grande, a math teacher who knew Costa well and teaches his younger brother Chris, described the 21-year-old aspiring writer as "ingenious" and "creative."
Grande, 29, taught Costa during his junior and senior years at ALJ and kept in touch with him after he left for Montclair State on a full scholarship, where he impressed his former teacher with plans to rewrite classic Greek mythology.

"His visions were so sharp," Grande said. "I can't even begin to convey how special he was... He was one-of-a-kind."

Grande said his fond memories of Costa took precedence over the sadness of his death. "The thought of Mark alone has to put a smile on your face, that outweighs everything," Grande said. "I take comfort in the fact that I trust he's in a better place... I have an image of him cracking jokes with God now."

"He was a friend," Grande added. "That's something no one can take away from him... there was such a youthful energy about him."

Grande described Mark's parents Antonio and Isabel Costa - immigrants from Portugal who moved to Clark from Newark with Mark, Chris and older brother Sergio, 24 - as welcoming when he went to Mark's house to tutor him for the SAT's.

"You felt like a part of the family when you were in their house," Grande said.

Costa and his family were also familiar faces at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church, where a Mass will be celebrated for him today at 9:45 a.m., following his funeral at 8:45 a.m. at the Walter J. Johnson Funeral Home in Clark.

"Mark and his mom would make regular visits to church," said Father John Chadwick. "We've been in regular touch with the family since the tragedy occurred Saturday."