Family Of Wayland Crash Victim Seeks Donations For Swimming Nonprofit

WAYLAND, MA — The Wayland man who died in a single-vehicle crash over the weekend has been identified as Simon Thavaseelan, the owner of the British Swim School of Greater Boston based in Woburn and Stoneham.

Thavaseelan, 43, crashed into a tree near 41 Shaw Drive just after 1:30 a.m. Saturday. He was driving a Kia EV6 — an all-electric sedan — and firefighters worked for about 40 minutes to completely extinguish a fire in the vehicle.

According to Thavaseelan's obituary, his family is asking for donations to the charity Hope Floats in lieu of flowers. The foundation provides swimming lessons to children across the globe to prevent drownings. Thavaseelan's swim school provided lessons for children as young as 3 months and adults at pools at the Red Roof Inn in Woburn and the LA Fitness in Stoneham.

Thavaseelan leaves behind a wife and two children. The family previously lived in Andover, according to his obituary.

In a joint statement over the weekend, the Wayland police and fire departments said they are working alongside state police to determine how the crash happened.