Joyce Gregory
Press Release
From the School Bus Information Council
March 3, 2005
Like 500,000 fellow school bus drivers around the country, Joyce
Gregory's day began very early and routinely when she left her home to begin her
route.
But unlike any other driver in the long and proud history of pupil
transportation, her day and future ended suddenly and criminally when a teenage
student who rode her bus shot and killed her as she stopped to pick him up.
What an especially chilling and senseless end to a life marked by caring for
others. Our heartfelt condolences and prayers are with the Gregory family, and
the families of the children riding in her bus who have been traumatized by the
horror they witnessed on the morning of March 2 in rural Tennessee.
Nationally, the school bus industry is especially close-knit, and we mourn the
loss of a wife, mother of two, and colleague. Many parents in Cumberland City,
Tennessee knew Joyce Gregory as the responsible, reliable adult that she was --
a caring professional to whom the safety of their children was entrusted two
times every school day.
The big yellow school bus is emblematic of our freedom, mobility and confidence
that our children are safe and secure. The murder of Joyce Gregory reverberates
in every city and town because every city and town operates yellow school buses
just like the one in which Joyce Gregory was slain.
This tragedy will cause many to ask, "Is my child's school bus safe?" The answer
is yes -- a school bus is the safest vehicle on the road. There is no safer way
for a child to get to and from school.
Members of the school transportation community have been touched by this
unprecedented incident, especially because people that work in pupil
transportation hold the safety and security of a school bus and the children it
carries in the highest regard. Many of those professionals are stakeholders as
well -- their own children ride yellow school buses on a daily basis. That role
of stakeholder, and the very real awareness that they are safeguarding our
future on a daily basis, is what leads those in pupil transportation to exhibit
a real passion for the industry.
The professionals involved in school bus transportation are throwing their
passion for the safety for school children at the challenge presented by this
tragic circumstance. The school transportation industry always has and always
will take proactive steps to evaluate all issues related to school bus safety
and security. We believe that while it is difficult to stop some types of
violence, it is not impossible.
As parents, students, transportation professionals, and world citizens mourn the
passing of Joyce Gregory, rest assured in the knowledge that her tragic death
will inspire her colleagues across the nation to work even harder to further the
safety and security of children as they ride in the big yellow school bus.
Additional Information from
Tennessee Association of Pupil Transportation
March 4, 2005
Many people are wondering what they what they can do.
If you are interested in helping create a light in the
darkness of the aftermath to this tragedy, we encourage you to start by doing
two things:
First and foremost, send your condolences for the Gregory
family in care of:
Anglin Funeral Home
402 Donelson Parkway
Dover, TN 37058
Those who are interested can send a contribution in "Memory of Joyce Gregory"
to:
AmSouth Bank
Attn: Sherry Garner
PO Box 432
Dover, TN 37058
Account # 0052-2288-00
Second, while we all mourn for the Gregory family and the
community where Joyce Gregory lived and worked, we encourage you to direct your
passion for the safety of school children at the challenge presented by this
tragic circumstance. We hope and fully expect that Joyce Gregory's death will
inspire her colleagues across the nation to work even harder to enhance the
safety and security of children as they ride in the big yellow school bus.
"School Bus Driver Killed"
March 3, 2005
by Gary Tanner
The Associated Press
CUMBERLAND CITY, TN -- A 14-year-old student who had reportedly
been turned in by his school bus driver for using smokeless tobacco was charged
with fatally shooting her Wednesday as she stopped to pick him up on her route.
Joyce Gregory was shot and killed, but none of the 24 students on the bus,
ranging from kindergarten to the 12th grade, were hurt.
Two weeks ago, Gregory told family members she was having trouble with students
``dipping snuff'' on the bus, according to her cousin, Jacqueline Reed. After
several warnings, she reported them to school administrators Tuesday, Reed said,
adding that the 14-year-old suspect was among the students.
The shooting happened around 6:15 a.m. on an unpaved rural road just outside
Cumberland City, about 50 miles northwest of Nashville. The bus was picking up
students and taking them to Dover Elementary and Stewart County High School.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said boy had not
yet boarded the bus when the driver was shot. Police said the weapon used was a
.45-caliber handgun, but they would not say where the boy got it.
Officials gave few details about the shooting at a news conference, and while
they acknowledged also hearing stories that the driver had disciplined the
student, they would not comment on a motive for the shooting. They also refused
to release the boy's name, but several neighbors identified him as Jason Clinard.
District Attorney Dan Alsobrooks said the suspect has been charged with
first-degree murder in Juvenile Court and was being held without bond. But he
said the boy could face adult charges as the investigation continues.
Public defender Jack Lockert met with the boy after the shooting for about 45
minutes.
"I would characterize him as being in shock,'' Lockert said. "We obviously feel
like he has severe mental issues. He's an A and B student and had never been in
trouble before.''
TBI Director Mark Gwyn said he wasn't releasing much information because agents
were still interviewing students.
"You must understand these are very delicate interviews,'' Gwyn said. "These are
young, young children. We're still in the process of conducting those
interviews, and we're doing this as expeditiously as possible. We want to get
this city back to normal as soon as possible.''
After the shooting, the bus crashed into a utility pole at the driveway of the
student's home and knocked out power in the rural neighborhood. A white sheet
was draped across the front of the bus and door as authorities investigated the
scene.
Mitchell Kern lives about 50 feet from where the bus crashed and said he rode
the same bus every day last year before graduating from Stewart County High
School. He had also heard that the boy was in trouble for using smokeless
tobacco.
"He was a good kid. Nobody seen this coming,'' Kern said.
"It's a very sad day in Stewart County,'' said Phillip Wallace, director of
Stewart County Schools. "We've been in shock. We're very grieved to lose a very
important part of our community.''
Gregory was a teacher's assistant for four or five years and had been a bus
driver for the past two years, Wallace said.
"I lost a good friend this morning, so I'm hurt,'' said Bill Austin, a
supervisor for Stewart County schools. "We're trying to do our level best to get
our kids through this. That's what we've got to do right now.''
Emergency medical workers moved Gregory's body from the school bus into an
ambulance about five hours after the shooting. A wrecker towed the bus away at
noon.
