What was meant to be a simple drive turned tragic when 17-year-old Katelyn Ray never made it to pick up her sister from work.
Her family sensed something was wrong just moments before receiving the heartbreaking news.
At sunrise, Highway 15 in Panola County, Mississippi, was the scene of an eerie stillness. A school bus sat on the roadside, “its rear end severely damaged, its emergency lights illuminating the otherwise tranquil morning.” Katelyn had crashed into the back of the South Panola School District bus around 7:15 a.m.
She had only recently earned her driver’s license and was enrolled in GED classes. “A teenager tragically lost her life in a collision with a school bus while en route to pick up her younger sister.” Her sudden death devastated both her family and the close-knit community.
