By JON BAKER

LINCOLN — The man believed to have crashed his vehicle into the front entrance of the former middle school on Friday afternoon has been positively identified as Jay Paul, 34, of Lincoln.

“We received information from the State Medical Examiner’s Office at about 3 p.m. (Monday); we were told the person has been identified as Jay Paul,” Police Chief Brian Sullivan stated. “At the time of his death, he was living with his parents in Lincoln (at 3 Old Jenckes Hill Road), and had been working as a teacher’s aide and  student’s aide at the high school.”
According to witnesses, Paul had left a pre-calculus class — where he was taking notes for a student in need — early Friday afternoon following an intercom call to report to principal Kevin McNamara’s office. He had seemed nervous about being paged, and later was seen leaving the school looking rather upset.
Sullivan mentioned to media on Monday that he could reveal little else, as his detective unit was still investigating the circumstances behind the fiery crash, which occurred about 50 minutes after the final bell rang at 1:50 p.m., Friday.
No injuries to students or staff were reported.
On Saturday, police announced that an accelerant had been found inside the vehicle, but could not confirm if it was gasoline.
“In terms of the investigation, some of the aspects we’re looking at is when Mr. Paul left the building -- we know through witnesses he did leave -- and we’re trying to determine where he went,” Sullivan said. “We know he left the property and came back. We’re also working with the State Fire Marshal’s Office to discover what the accelerant was.
When asked it a suicide note had been found either in the car (a blue Ford station wagon) or at his home, Sullivan said, “If there was anything in the vehicle (a blue Ford station wagon), it was totally consumed (by the blaze) … There was an accelerant inside (the car), which caused such an intense fire, but I haven’t heard it was on fire prior to the crash.”
He also revealed he hadn’t spoken with Superintendent of Schools Georgia Fortunato about whether Paul had been fired or laid off, but that subject is being addressed as part of the investigation.
Fortunato wasn’t available for comment on Monday, though School Committee member Julie Zito did state Fortunato had conducted an emergency faculty meeting at the school at 6:45 a.m., Monday, not long before students were scheduled to arrive.
“I know she and Kevin (McNamara) were to speak about everything that happened, and the steps to be taken,” said Zito, who will run for re-election in November. “They wanted to make sure that everything would be addressed properly.”
Fortunato previously had stated that counseling would be available for students, but it was unknown how many may have requested such Monday morning. The building had been deemed safe on Saturday by a structural engineer, the town’s building inspector and the district’s director of buildings and grounds
“The biggest focus for us all is the safety of the students,” Zito said. “I was at work in Cumberland at the time of the crash, and -- when I heard about it -- I flew to the school. It was a scary scene, absolutely scary. It’s impossible to think it happened here in Lincoln. You see those things happen in other places, but not here.”
She mentioned being pleasantly surprised at how quickly school staff and restoration crews cleaned the smoke and soot from that north lobby and damaged office across the hallway from the former middle school gymnasium.
“It’s absolutely incredible how this was pulled off,” Zito said. “The administration team is second to none. The boards that were placed at the front of the site have been painted the same color, and it looks beautiful. They’ve also actually built a handicap-accessible ramp to the right side of that entrance.”
According to a published report, Paul -- of Indian descent -- had been described as an extremely intelligent man who owned hundreds of books and papers, but also somewhat of a recluse. He was born March 1, 1974 to Biswa and Anjali Paul, and his father, 74, now is a retired physician at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket.
Jay Paul, who grew up in the town’s Lime Rock section, thrived in his educational pursuits since childhood. In fact, his older brother, Shuva, earned valedictorian status from Lincoln High in 1984, then moved ahead to Brown University.
Paul later became a student at Wheeler School, the private institution virtually on Brown’s doorstep on the East Side of Providence, and graduated in 1992. He then attended Providence College as an undergraduate before moving onto Rhode Island College to chase a Master’s in history.
In Lincoln, he had worked not only as a special education teacher’s aide but also a substitute. He also worked as a “scribe,” one would take notes for children unable to take their own during class.
While perusing the scene at the school on Friday, stunned students indicated Paul to be a “really nice guy” who kept to himself, and enjoyed helping others in their academic pursuits.