“It’s the Sheriff. May I come in?”

It’s almost 10 a.m. on a rainy Monday morning in Flintstone, Georgia.  Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson, accompanied by the County Coroner, and a Sheriff’s Department chaplain, make the short drive from Chattanooga Valley Elementary School to the home of a child’s parents.

“This was one of the worst days of my career,” said Sheriff Wilson, in his 18th year on the job.  “But then I think of that mom, dad, his brothers and grandparents, all those students and teachers.  They’re heavy on my mind.”

Zackery Bryant

He’s referring to the tragic death of six-year-old Zackery Maximus Gage Bryant,  a kindergarten student at Chattanooga Valley.  According to Georgia State Patrol investigators, at the barely-daylight hour of 7 a.m., Zackery walked in front of the bus, outside the view of the driver, who was dropping off students in the school parking lot.  The bus struck the little boy, killing him instantly.

A Walker County deputy, Mason Brewer,  was on the scene within a minute.  He was first to confirm the bus driver’s worst fears.  A little boy had been hit.  The driver had picked up and taken Zackery to school and back every day, along with his brother Matthew, who is two years older.  There were other children, teachers and administrators in the busy parking lot too.  Within seconds, Zackery’s lifeless body was shielded from view.  Everyone on the scene was visibly shaken.  Deputy Brewer has two daughters of his own, also in school.  Word spread quickly among the school’s staff: “We’ve lost a child.”  Superintendent Damon Raines, a solid and compassionate man, sent word to all of the county schools.  Principals and counselors answered the call.  Among them was Mike Culberson, the Lafayette High principal, whose wife Heather is principal of this school.  She was taking it hard.  It was like losing one of her babies.

As news of the tragedy got out, a few Facebook experts instantly began pointing fingers.  “Bus drivers should always know where the children are,” wrote one.  “What kind of school doesn’t have a safety team in place when buses drop off kids?” asked another.  A child had died just a few hours earlier, and some people already had all the answers.  This would be an ideal time for Facebook to have an “eject” button, but there’s no such luck.

Sheriff Wilson, a deeply religious man, has made these visits before.  “If I’m available, I’d rather inform the family about the loss of a loved one, instead of having my staff do it.  It’s my duty, not so much as Sheriff, but as a Christian.  You don’t do this by phone, not if there’s any way possible to tell someone face to face.  I was not alone,” Wilson said.  “I had our chaplain Neal Brown and the coroner, Dewayne Wilson with me.  We’ve all done this before.  It’s never easy, and I knew this one wouldn’t be.”

Sgt. Tommy Sturdivan of the Georgia State Patrol helped document the accident, and made a key decision: before the bus was towed away, he instructed that the number of the bus be covered.  As Sheriff Wilson said, “That bus will be back in service some day, and he said people might associate the bus number with this tragedy.”

Dan Gilchrist is a true angel among us.  The pastor of the Presbyterian Church across the street, he also has children in the school.  He wore many hats on this day, first dropping off his children, then helping re-direct traffic, opening a sad press conference with prayer (“Oh Father, how desperately we need your spirit,” he began) and then providing a room to comfort the family, out of sight of this horrible tragedy.

“I knocked on the door,” Sheriff Wilson said.  “There was a car in the driveway, so I figured someone was there.  I knocked a little harder.  The boy’s mother answered, and she asked who was there.  I said, ‘It’s the Sheriff, may I come in?’  We asked if she had heard about an accident at the school.  She said she had not.  I said, ‘We need to tell you what happened.’  Like anyone else, there was some disbelief at first, that maybe we were mistaken.  It took a little time to sink in, and then we prayed with her.”

The boy’s father, who was at work in Chattanooga soon got the news, and joined his family at the church.  Deputy Brewer, who was first at the scene, told the Sheriff, “I need to go home to hug my daughters.”

The bus driver, whose own 20-year-old son died three years ago, is “very shaken up,” and the school district is allowing him to take some days off.  The accident investigation report, released late Friday, said the driver was not distracted while behind the wheel.  He was pulling away from the school when the child walked in front of the bus, to pick up something he had forgotten.  He will not be charged in this case, with investigators concluding it was an unavoidable accident.

(Personal note: As the father of two boys who were six years old for a brief moment in time, I can say with certainty that fewer things on earth are more precious than a six-year-old.  To this day, when given a choice of classrooms to share a Dr. Seuss book, I’ll take kindergarten every time.  The wide-eyed wonder, the honesty, the innocence.  There’s nothing quite like it.  They’re no longer babies, but they still love a good hug.)

Zackery’s obituary describes him as a fan of super heroes like Spider Man and Captain America.  His grandmother said he will be buried in his favorite Spider Man outfit.

Back on Facebook, amid the prayers and the second-guessers was this wonderful nugget: “My grandson is in the little boy’s class.  He asked if he could send him a card to make him feel better.” Spoken like a true six-year-old.

“This tragedy has touched people in Walker County and beyond,” Sheriff Wilson said.  “We’ve all been on a school bus, our children ride those buses, and we wonder, could it happen to us?  I hope mommas and daddies everywhere are reminding their children about school bus safety.  And I hope they’re all hugging their children and grandchildren, no matter how old they are.  I know I will.”

Zackery Bryant