School of Rock's Jack Black Devastated by Kevin Clark's Tragic Death

Earlier today, news broke that Kevin Clark, who appeared as Freddy Jones in School of Rock, had died after being struck by a motorist while Clark was riding his bicycle in a Chicago suburb. Now, School of Rock star Jack Black is speaking out about the tragic news. Black took to Instagram on Wednesday to share that he is heartbroken by the devastating news in a post sharing a photo of himself with Clark from the 2003 film and from a more recent meeting between the two.

"Devastating news," Black wrote. "Kevin is gone. Way too soon. Beautiful soul. So many great memories. Heartbroken. Sending love to his family and the whole School of Rock community."

According to a report by TMZ, police indicate that Clark was reportedly struck by a 20-year-old woman driving a Hyundai Sonata around 1:20 a.m. Paramedics found Clark and transported him to Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 2:04 a.m. according to the Chicago Fire Department and the Cook County medical examiner's office. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the driver of the car had been issued citations following the incident.

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Directed by Richard Linklater, School of Rock centered around Black's Dewey Finn, a middle-aged slacker who had been called in to substitute teach a music class by mistake. However, after developing a rapport with the kids in his class, Dewey took them to a Battle of the Bands competition. Clark's character, due to his outspoken nature, had more lines than most of the other kids in the film and as a result, is fondly remembered by fans. The kids in the film were played mostly by actual young musicians, including Clark who while he stopped acting after School of Rock went on to play in a number of bands, including Jessie Bess and the Intentions which had just played their first live show on Saturday.