Teen Dies After Slamming Into School Bus, Then Police Find What Was In Her Hand

Tragedy struck Panola County when 18-year-old Katelyn Ray lost her life in a collision with a school bus at 7:15 a.m. on a Wednesday morning in September 2018. Katelyn, on her way to pick up her older sister, rear-ended a South Panola School bus on Highway 15. The last exchange between Katelyn and her mother, Shelia Ray, was a simple moment of familial love. Shelia, in disbelief, recalled the sequence leading to an agonizing wait. A call from the highway patrol delivered the devastating news of the severe accident.

The collision forcibly pushed Katelyn’s car into the rear of the school bus. As the family anxiously awaited Katelyn’s arrival at her sister’s workplace, growing concern mounted. Courtney Pettit, Katelyn’s sister, took to social media seeking information, only to learn of the tragedy during the search. Katelyn, an active participant in GED classes, had recently obtained her driver’s license two months before the accident. The tight-knit Panola County community mourns, emphasizing the fragility of life on the roads. Katelyn Ray’s untimely death leaves a void, prompting an ongoing investigation by the Mississippi Highway Patrol.