Published: May 05, 2008 05:18 pm         

School honors those who helped during crisis

By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



Friday was an emotional day at Bryan Elementary School as officials honored those who helped after the recent bus crash involving Bryan students and teachers.

During the Helping Heroes program, Bryan principal Debra Campbell and assistant principal Dr. Sakema Porterfield recognized police officers, firefighters, city officials, medical personnel and others from various cities.

The accident happened on March 28 off Interstate 59 in Springville.

Bryan’s fifth-graders were on three charter buses, taking a field trip to the Tennessee Aquarium.

When the driver of the first bus slumped over the steering wheel because of an apparent medical issue, teacher Amy King grabbed the steering wheel and prevented the bus from crashing into trees and six feet of standing water.

The bus left the roadway and overturned, injuring more than 20 people.

Morris City Councilmen Ray Densmore and Joe Pylant, along with Morris Police Chief Brian Cochran, presented three resolutions that the city council passed on April 22. Densmore has a son who was on the bus that overturned.

The resolutions honored King; teacher Sherry Ledlow, who was on the bus that crashed; and the fifth-grade class.

State Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-51st, also presented a resolution and certificates during the ceremony.

In addition, he surprised Campbell with a check for $3,500, “to help with some of the needs at Bryan Elementary.”

Jefferson County Board of Education superintendent Dr. Phil Hammonds also addressed the audience.

He commended the officials and volunteers who responded to the scene “in a calm, professional, loving manner and took care of our children.”

Campbell expressed her gratitude to the uniformed personnel who filled the school’s gym Friday, but she was also grateful that many parents attended the ceremony.

“I was so glad that parents got to come. It was sort of a closure to this time in their childrens’ lives,” she said.

Parent Sharon Teer was in a car about a mile behind the buses. Her daughter Courtney Teer was on the second bus.

When Teer drove up to the scene, her heart dropped.

“You didn’t know which bus it was, if it was the bus your child was on,” she said.

Teer said that seeing the crash has made her “more paranoid” about driving.

“It’s been hard for the parents because we can’t quit thinking about it,” she said.

Samantha Adams, who had a child on the bus that wrecked, said it was nice to see so many of those who responded together in one place, under better circumstances.

Adams, a nurse, and parent Kelley Catron, a nurse practitioner, were in a car following the buses to Chattanooga.

Catron’s daughter Lauren Miller was on the bus that crashed.

Catron said that when she and Adams made sure their children were OK, they began helping others.

“There was kind of an eerie silence out there, a stunned silence,” said Catron.

Catron said she was touched by the kindness of strangers who drove by.

It was a cold morning, and many of the children had lost their jackets and shoes during the wreck.

“I saw people come out of their cars with blankets and jackets” for the children, Catron said.

“It was amazing to see how people responded,” she said. “I remember standing there crying.”