Aleita Gladson: Hawkins County mourns death of Tennessee school bus driver who died in a wrong-way crash
ROGERSVILLE, TENNESSEE: A beloved Tennessee school bus driver tragically lost her life in a wrong-way crash after an 18-year-old man allegedly drove his pickup truck into the wrong lane, hitting the bus head-on, police said.
According to WJHL, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said that bus driver Aleita Gladson, 55, of Rogersville, was driving on Highway 70 in Hawkins County at around 7.30 am Monday morning, February 26, when the man allegedly drove his 2005 Chevy Silverado in front of the bus, killing the 55-year-old. Footage from WJHL shows that both vehicles were crumpled by the crash.
The pickup truck's driver has not been arrested
The 18-year-old, whose name has not been released, was also injured in the crash and charges are pending, according to the CBS affiliate station WVLT. The Hawkins County Rescue Squad extricated one person from the crash site and airlifted them from the scene near Willow Road in northern Tennessee, ABC-affiliate WAVE reported.
Two students on the bus were also injured
Hawkins County Schools director Matt Hixson first announced Gladson’s death in a statement and confirmed that two students on the bus also received medical treatment for their minor injuries, according to the News Tribune.
“Aleita was a longtime and valued Hawkins County Schools team member, as a bus driver, as a secretary and as assistant director within our Transportation Department,” Hixson told the publication in a statement, adding “Our prayers go out to her family, and we would ask that all those within our Hawkins County community keep Aleita’s family in your prayers as well.”
Many members of the community where Gladson attended high school before beginning work as a bus driver, posted tributes on social media after her death, the Tribune reported.
“Hawkins County lost a wonderful woman, the part of the bus system that made it run smoothly and a vital part of the lives of the kids she encountered this morning,” one community member wrote in a Facebook post.
Drunk truck driver Gregory Jackson accused of killing 15-year-old teen who was exiting school bus
Meaww previously reported that Gregory Jackson, a truck driver, faces a homicide charge after a 15-year-old was fatally struck while exiting a school bus.
The tragic accident unfolded on a Texas highway and the details of both the driver and the deceased boy will be thoroughly investigated. Due to the ongoing inquiry, the truck driver has been arrested and is being held with a substantial bond.
The tragic collision unfolded on an eastern Texas highway as a 15-year-old disembarked from his school bus at 4:15 pm on US Highway 59, just north of Livingston. The involved vehicle was an 18-wheeler driven by 41-year-old Gregory Jackson. The town is in Polk County, about 70 miles northeast of Houston.
