JACKSON, Miss. — Phyllis Graham dedicated her life to teaching special needs children. Steven Moss was a mentor to the students he coached in football and golf.
Both Ackerman High School teachers died Tuesday when a tractor-trailer rig collided with two school buses carrying seniors home from a school trip to the University of Mississippi. The accident also killed 54-year-old Gary T. Bailey of Mantachie, who was driving the 18-wheeler, authorities said.
The accident happened on a narrow bridge on Mississippi Highway 8 in Calhoun County, about 40 miles south of the Ole Miss campus, when the 18-wheeler sideswiped the first bus, then hit the second one head on, authorities said.
Somehow, all 54 students survived, though 17 were taken to hospitals.
Ackerman High School Principal Terry Bellew said four students remained hospitalized early Wednesday. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Jake Hough, a 17-year-old senior, described the terrifying ordeal in an interview with WTVA-TV.
"At first I seen the 18-wheeler coming. It hit the first bus and skinned it. Then the 18-wheeler hit us head on. Before it hit us, I was yelling. I was scared," Hough said. "Then we hit and woke up. Everybody was on the floor."
The tragedy stunned the little town of Ackerman, a community of about 1,800 people where "everybody knows everybody," said Mayor Dick Cain.
"It's very somber here right now," said Cain, whose granddaughter was on the second bus. "She's banged up. Sore. Emotionally troubled."
Moss, 37, was a respected coach who also taught history, Bellew said.
"Coach Moss was a strong, positive role model for the young men that he taught and coached," Bellew said in statements prepared for a news conference Wednesday. "He was a dynamic person, always with a kind word and many times with a humorous comment that could be heard in his usual quiet, witty tone."
Moss leaves behind a wife and 5-year-old daughter.
Graham, a 53-year-old special education teacher, made the school trip to accompany one of her students to the university.
"Mrs. Graham's love for her students was evident in everything that she did. For 12½ years she devoted her life to loving, encouraging, inspiring and teaching special needs children," Bellew said.
Graham leaves behind a husband, son and daughter.
Choctaw County schools Superintendent Donna Shea said both educators "were very much loved by the students and each had a love for their students that flowed through them."
The cause of the accident remains under investigation. Shea told The Associated Press on Wednesday that any information regarding the cause of the crash would have to come from law enforcement.
A Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman said the investigation continues.