Beloved social studies teacher dies in crash after leaving Georgia school, reports say

A Georgia community is mourning the loss of a beloved teacher killed in a crash just minutes from school, state troopers and news outlets report.

“Losing a school teacher in the middle of the year is pretty hard on the students, especially in a small town, because everybody knows everybody,” Polk County resident Chad Prater told WAGA after news of David Brown’s death.

Brown, 57, a social studies teacher at Cedartown Middle School, died Tuesday, Feb. 14, when a Ford Bronco ran a red light and hit him at the intersection of GA-1 and Collard Valley Road, according to Georgia State Patrol.

The impact sent Brown’s Honda Accord spinning counterclockwise into the southbound lanes of GA-1, where it struck another car waiting at the stoplight, a crash report states.

The wreck happened around 4 p.m. shortly after classes let out at Cedartown Middle, the Polk County Standard Journal and Coosa Valley News reported.

Brown was taken to a hospital where he died, troopers said. No one else was hurt.

Tributes to the beloved teacher flooded social media after news of the deadly crash. District officials said he was dedicated educator and “valued member” of the school community.

“Please join us in remembering Mr. Brown’s family and the students and staff of Cedartown Middle School during this difficult time,” the Polk School District wrote in a statement.

Cedartown Middle School also shared a photo of Brown on its Facebook page with the message, “We love & miss you Mr. Brown.”

The driver of the Ford Bronco, identified as 21-year-old Jamie Chavez-Lopez, was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide, failure to obey a traffic control device and driver to exercise due care, WAGA reported.

Chavez-Lopez told troopers she “thought the traffic light was green for her and that (Brown) pulled out in front of her,” according to the crash report. However, witnesses said the light was red.

Cedartown is about 60 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta.

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