Middle school community in mourning after fatal wreck

ATLANTA — A middle school community is mourning after a math teacher was killed in a car wreck Monday when a teen struck the car she was in and sent it into the path of a tractor-trailer.

Two of her colleagues were also critically injured in the wreck.

Channel 2's Ryan Young talked to investigators Tuesday, who said Shireen Haynes, 40, was killed in the wreck.

Haynes was a math teacher at Sandtown Middle School.

Kay Price, a fellow math teacher, and her husband, James, were rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

Investigators told Young that Haynes was catching a ride home with the Prices when a red Civic, driven by a teen, clipped the back of the Price family's car, sending it spinning out of control.

Young talked to the couple's daughter, Tonya Thompson, who said her parents' outlook was very bleak when they arrived at the hospital.

"When they arrived at Grady, (it was) very, very grim. They started to pull through, throughout the evening. They're two walking miracles right now," Thompson said.

The wreck shut down traffic on Camp Creek Parkway for hours Monday. Police told Young they are working on what charges the teen might face and checking to see if her license allowed her to be in the car without an adult.

"It's still a preliminary investigation. The traffic investigators will probably be working on this for several days," Detective Melissa Parker with the Fulton County Police Department said.

But for the students and fellow teachers at Sandtown Middle School, Tuesday has been a day of tears and prayers. Grief counselors were on hand all day, as two member of their community had been impacted.

"The concern and the love, I just truly appreciate that. Our family truly appreciates that. Just thank you so much," Thompson said about the outpouring of support her family has been shown.

Officers told Young the car was hit twice by the tractor-trailer, ejecting everyone from the car.

Thompson told Young the Prices' conditions have improved and they are no longer in critical condition.

So far, the teen involved in the wreck has not been charged.