Teacher Mistakenly Reported Dead

Teacher Mistakenly Reported Dead

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - State Police reported that Terry L. Ferguson was killed Tuesday night in a head-on collision in Oswego County. So when Terry L. Fergerson arrived at work Wednesday morning at Syracuse's Central Technical Vocational Center, he found fellow teachers and students consoling each other over his death.

"I don't know what the percentages are, I'm not a mathematician, but it's pretty far out," said Fergerson, a 58-year-old graphic arts teacher from West Monroe, 17 miles north of Syracuse.

"They were all panic-stricken," Fergerson said. "Some students didn't know whether they should come to school or not. It's been crazy for two days."

Even his daughter was temporarily misguided by the case of mistaken identity. Friends and family were calling her Tuesday night to offer condolences.

Fergerson said he did not know Terry L. Ferguson, who was 59 and lived in nearby Hannibal. Both men drove red Chevy pickups, adding to the confusion.

"I feel terrible for the other family," Fergerson said Thursday. "I wish we could have met."