Relatives and friends are mourning a Bridgeport man Monday who was killed in a crash over the weekend that also left two other people seriously injured.

Police say two vehicles collided heading southbound on the Merritt Parkway between exits 52 and 53 in Stratford Sunday morning. Jordan Soares, a 27-year-old guidance counselor, careened off another car and into a guard rail.

His SUV slipped down an embankment and the impact ejected him from the vehicle, according to investigators.

Soares was pronounced dead. His two passengers were hospitalized with injuries not considered to be life-threatening, police say.

The three people in the other car involved in the crash were not injured.

Soares worked at the Columbus Elementary School and the Geraldine Claytor Magnet Academy in Bridgeport.

"He loved life," says Pam Adams, a family friend. "He loved the kids. He loved his job. He's been so proud to even become a guidance counselor."  

Soares had other local educators in his family. His mother is the principal at the Bridgeport Military Academy.