Cedar Grove, TN, (March 27, 2026) – A fatal school bus crash in Carroll County claimed the life of Arianna Pearson and another student while injuring multiple others, officials said.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a Kenwood Middle School bus crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a Tennessee Department of Transportation dump truck near Cedar Grove. The bus then struck an SUV before ending up in a ditch.
The group was traveling to Jackson for a Greenpower USA field trip at the time of the crash.
Arianna Pearson was among two students pronounced dead. Several others sustained injuries, with multiple victims airlifted to trauma centers in Nashville and Memphis.
Four pediatric patients were taken to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and were reported stable. Baptist Memorial Hospital-Carroll County treated 19 patients, all of whom were later released.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
