By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



Last week marked one year since north Jefferson County was stunned by an accident involving 40 children.

On March 28, 2008, 120 Bryan Elementary School students were headed to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga for the annual fifth-grade field trip.

Near the Springville exit on Interstate 59, the first of the three charter buses ran off of the interstate and flipped over.

Teachers Amy King and Sherry Ledlow were aboard the bus. King jumped from her seat and grabbed the steering wheel in an attempt to gain control of the bus after the driver reportedly passed out because of a medical issue.

Both she and Ledlow were seriously injured, along with a student.

The community instantly came alive when word about the accident spread. Pastors, counselors, school principals, police officers and volunteers converged on Bryan Elementary School.

Meanwhile, Bryan principal Debra Campbell rushed to the scene in Springville, along with Morris Police Chief Brian Cochran, Jefferson County Board of Education superintendent Dr. Phil Hammonds and many others.

“The school community, law enforcement, board of education staff, and even total strangers all came together in what was a most difficult situation,” said Hammonds. “They all had one purpose: To look after the well-being of students that day.”

Ledlow and King said the event is still very much alive one year later.

“We’re surprised that it continues to have a life like it does,” said Ledlow. She said people still mention the accident and tell her how they prayed for those involved.

“We just hear that everywhere,” she said.

Both teachers agreed that the accident changed them both.

“I’ve learned not to sweat the small stuff,” King said. “At the end of the day, what’s important is my family and my students.”

King, a teacher for 11 years, missed the remainder of the 2008 school year because of her injuries.

Ledlow, a teacher for 22 years, said she also looks at life differently because of the wreck. Ledlow missed a week and a half of school because of her injuries.

“For me, I learned to appreciate and value every day that God gives you of life,” she said. “It makes you so appreciative of the Lord’s goodness.”

To mark the anniversary, Bryan Elementary teachers wore T-shirts last Friday that stated “It’s all good at Bryan Elementary,” which is the school’s unofficial motto.

Campbell, principal at Bryan for four years, said the accident showed the community that her school does what it takes to protect students.

“We’re a safe school,” she said. “Whatever happens, we think of students first.”

According to Campbell, teachers have not even discussed renting charter buses for field trips since the accident.

“It’s too soon,” she said.

Instead, students take local field trips. This year’s fifth-trade field trip was to McWane Science Center in Birmingham. The students rode school buses.

Kimberly Mayor Ralph Lindsey said that he and the town council have discussed plans for similar emergencies.

“We pray every day that it will never happen again,” Lindsey said.

But still, he said, the Town of Kimberly must be prepared.

“When you have an event like that, you automatically go through the process of what we did, what we could have done better and how are we going to handle it in the future,” said Lindsey. “I can assure you that if anything ever happens to our children there, we will be there and we will provide whatever service anybody needs.”

Ledlow and King have seen the entire community do just that. They said family, friends and strangers provided food for them and their families for six weeks following the accident.

“I just want to thank the whole community one more time,” said King. “I really can’t say it enough. It was really such a blessing. It made an impact on me personally.”