Region V Reacts to Crash As Victims Prepare to Return to Southeast Texas

The Region V Education Service center tells KFDM, most, if not all, of the educators and family members on the education trip to Mexico should be back in the United States by Saturday night. 

That word comes from the organization's executive dIrector, Steve Hyden.

Hyden says he has worked all day Friday alongside a dozen other state and federal agencies today to secure means of transportation for the group to return as soon as possible.  Hyden says he and other staff members have also spent the day reflecting on the organization's loss with the death of Dr. Dorothy Gray, who he calls a family member.  Gray worked for Region V and was a supervisor for the Bilingual-English program.

Hyden says Gray's compassion for children and helping them bridge the language barrier, as well as helping other educators do the same, has had a proven impact on the success of area school districts.

Hyden said, "Her service will be greatly missed, she was a wonderful person and a great character and a great leader in her area and certainly educators around this are are going to miss her expertise."

Linda Cook, a counselor at Dishman Elementary in Beaumont was seriously hurt and was flown by medical jet to Houston where she is being treated Friday night.  Missy Jones from the LC-M School District was critically hurt.  Terri Estes, also from that district, was less seriously injured.

One Jasper teacher and the other BISD educators on the trip were 'not' injured.