Funerals begin in Chattanooga for children killed in school bus crash
Funerals were held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this weekend for two of the six children killed last week in a school bus accident.
Mourners gathered at the Redemption Point Church in Chattanooga to say goodbye to nine-year-old Cor’Dayja Jones on Sunday. Jones was one of six children killed in the bus crash.
Her pastor remembered her as a child who made everyone’s day a little brighter.
“She was the most genuine child you could ever meet. You know when people say, that ‘oh man -- they leave everyone smiling’? And they just say it? For Cor’Dayja it really meant that,” she said.
The bus driver, Johnthony Walker, has been charged vehicular homicide.
Newly released records show school administrators and students raised concerns about him in the weeks before he crashed a bus carrying 37 children on their way home from Woodmore Elementary School.
Just 10 days before the accident, a principal reported Walker for driving “way too fast.” In a handwritten report, a student said “it feels like the bus is going to flip over.”
When confronted by a school official, Walker “stated that he did not care about the students and proceeded to tell the students he did not care about them.”
Funerals for the young victims continue throughout the week -- 10-year-old Zyanna Harris was laid to rest Sunday. Nine-year old Zoie Nash’s funeral is scheduled for Thursday.
Three students remain in the hospital in critical condition.
A fund has been set up to help families affected by the bus crash -- it has raised over $150,000. The number is expected to be even higher after the two organizations have had a chance to count all of the donations that came in over the holiday.