School coach dies in I-95 crash

FORT LAUDERDALE — He was a coach with a soft touch — the kind of man who was slow to anger and quick to be kind.

Carlo “C.J.” Ullysse Jr., a popular assistant football coach at Cypress Bay High, was killed Sunday morning in a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 95. He was 27, and reportedly on his way to visit his mom in Pompano Beach.

“His family is pretty broken up,” said George Guerra, a close family friend whose son, Cypress Bay linebackers coach Anthony Guerra, grew up with Ullysse and considered him his best friend.

“His friends are devastated,” Guerra said, holding back tears. “They’re all devastated.”

Ullysse, of North Lauderdale, was heading north on I-95 about 6 a.m. when he collided with another car south of Commercial Boulevard, said Lt. Alvaro Feola, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol.

At some point, Ullysse got out of his car and was standing near the highway at 6:19 a.m. when he was hit by a second car that kept on going, Feola said.

Two hours after the crash, his body remained near the shoulder of the highway, partially covered by a yellow tarp.

In addition to his mother, Ullysse leaves behind his father, one brother and three sisters, Guerra said.

On Monday, news of his death stunned the Cypress Bay campus, where he was remembered for a positive, upbeat approach that resonated with players.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do as a coach,” said Cypress Bay head coach Josh Shapiro, a former athletic director at South Broward in his first season leading the Lightning. “When I got the news yesterday, I absolutely dreaded having to stand in front of these boys this morning.”

Lightning coaches and guidance counselors were on hand before practice to speak with players, some of whom were first learning of Ullysse’s death.

As a student at Cypress Bay, Ullysse played cornerback. He went on to play for Indiana State before returning to his alma mater as a defensive backs coach.

“I don’t think I ever heard the young man say a bad thing ever,” Shapiro said. “He always had a positive, encouraging coaching style, very soft-spoken coaching style, which connected to a lot of the kids.”

In addition to coaching defensive backs, Ullysse was a personal trainer. His company name: More Fire.

“What ‘More Fire’ meant was more love, more understanding, more care, more giving,” Guerra said. “That’s what ‘More Fire’ was. And that’s what C.J. was. He lived by that.”

Most of Ullysse’s clients were young football players from all over Broward County, and he used his knowledge of strength, speed and agility to train the kids at Cypress Bay.

Guerra, of Weston, says Ullysse was the kind of guy who always put others first. On many occasions, Ullysse would help feed and clothe the underprivileged boys he also helped train, Guerra said.

“Let me tell you, C.J. was the real deal,” Guerra said. “He helped people and did the right thing. He always had a smile on his face and he always gave you an encouraging word, to anybody and everybody. That’s why the kids loved him at Cypress.”

Ullysse was an athlete in his own right and showed great promise even as a young boy on the field.

As kids, Ullysse and Guerra’s son played for the youth football team Warriors, where Guerra served as a coach. He still remembers one practice where 12-year-old Ullysse was showing up the defense in a goal-line drill.

Guerra told a linebacker to tackle Ullysse low, then watched in amazement as the wiry kid leapt high over the defender for a touchdown.

“We’re sitting there in amazement that this young man just jumped literally almost 4 feet in the air and had his feet hooked up underneath of him and landed squarely on the other side of the goal line,” Guerra said. “I’ve never seen any kid be able to do something athletically like that at that age, and he jumped over him like he wasn’t even there.”

Anyone with information about the crash is urged to call the Florida Highway Patrol by dialing *347 on a cellphone.

Ullysse