‘Sweetest’ school bus driver killed in crash with 18-year-old driver, TN officials say

A “wonderful” school bus driver died when an 18-year-old swerved into the wrong lane and hit the bus head-on, Tennessee officials said.

Aleita Gladson, 55, is remembered as the “sweetest lady.”

The crash happened shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 26, according to a preliminary report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The 18-year-old was traveling on a highway in Hawkins County in his pickup truck and crossed the center line into the northbound lane, striking the bus, according to the highway patrol.

Gladson was killed in the crash. The 18-year-old was not wearing a seat belt and was injured, troopers said in the report.

Footage from the scene by WJHL shows the fronts of both vehicles crumpled in.

Two students on the bus received medical treatment but only had minor injuries, Hawkins County Schools director Matt Hixson said in a statement.

“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 said. “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.”

Tributes to the community member poured in on social media, as people recalled the woman who drove them or their kids.

“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 Facebook user wrote in a post dedicated to Gladson.

Gladson attended high school in the same district where she drove kids to and from school for years.

“Aleita was my bus driver as a child,” one person wrote on Facebook. “She was always so kind. Prayers for her family.”

Charges may be announced pending the outcome of the investigation, according to troopers.

Hawkins County is in northern Tennessee, about 80 miles northeast of Knoxville.

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