CARROLL COUNTY, TENNESSEE — Two middle school students died and multiple others remain hospitalized after a school bus carrying Kenwood Middle School students to a STEM competition crashed on Highway 70 near Cedar Grove on March 27, 2026. The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a federal investigation into the crash.
The bus was transporting 24 students and five adults from Clarksville to Jackson for the GreenpowerUSA Toyota Hub City Grand Prix — a student competition involving cars and carts the students had built themselves. The crash occurred at approximately noon when the bus collided with a Tennessee Department of Transportation dump truck and a 2024 Chevrolet Trailblazer.
Dash cam footage from a vehicle behind the bus shows the bus steadily crossing the double yellow center lines before striking the dump truck head-on. Investigators have not yet determined what caused the bus to cross into oncoming traffic.
The Victims
Two students died at the scene. GoFundMe pages identify them as Zoe Davis and Arianna Pearson. Several others remain hospitalized as of Monday. Nine medical helicopters responded to the scene. Seven completed flights to trauma centers in Nashville and Memphis. Ground ambulances transported additional patients to local hospitals. Baptist Memorial Hospital-Carroll County treated 19 patients and discharged all of them. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt received four children. Three have since been discharged. One remains in stable condition.
The Drivers
The Tennessee Highway Patrol identified the three drivers involved in the crash. Sabrina R. Ducksworth drove the 2024 Blue Bird School Bus owned by the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. Dennis E. Coleman Jr. drove the TDOT vehicle — a 2014 International S30 dump truck towing an attenuator. James Bays drove the 2024 Chevrolet Trailblazer. THP noted the TDOT dump truck did not appear to have contributed to the crash itself.
A Survivor Remembers
Survivor Lani Lugo described the moment of impact to local media. “I feel the bus move, and I hear like a boom,” Lugo said. “Everything’s shaking, and I open my eyes, and I look out the window, and all I see is the woods.” She remembered her classmates who did not survive. “They were great people. I had drama club with Zoe at the beginning of the year; it was super fun. She did a play, and she was amazing. She’s a great actor, very passionate.” Of Arianna, Lugo said: “She was funny. I really admired her.”
The Investigation
THP’s Critical Incident Response Team and Pupil Transportation Division are leading the state investigation, gathering witness statements, collecting physical and digital evidence, and reconstructing the crash frame by frame. The NTSB has now joined the investigation, examining school bus driver performance, student passenger occupant protection, and oversight of school transportation operations in Tennessee. A preliminary NTSB report may be available within 30 days. A full investigation could take 12 to 24 months.
THP sent chaplains and peer support groups to the scene and continues to support affected families. Kenwood Middle School principal Karen Miller said counselors are available for students. “Please continue to pray with us for our students, families, faculty, and staff,” Miller wrote. “I am grateful for the strength of our Kenwood community, and I trust we will all support each other during this difficult time.”
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