OHS Mourns Loss of Student Killed in Weekend Wreck

The Oxford School District is mourning the loss of a student who died in a wreck this weekend.

According to Superintendent Bradley Roberson, Jaden Taylor, an 11^th-grade Oxford High School student, died Saturday in a wreck that happened on County Road 103.

Two other students were injured.

According to the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department, at approximately 4:00 a.m. deputies were dispatched to County Road 103 near County Road 102 for a one-vehicle crash. Taylor, 16, was pronounced deceased at the scene. 

The other two juveniles in the vehicle were both were seen at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi. One of the juveniles was later airlifted to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and has since been released and is at home recovering.

Taylor was known as a “friend to everyone,” who was on the Oxford High School Archery and Cross-Country teams.

“Families in our community were forever changed this weekend and the Oxford School District extends our deepest condolences to the Taylor family and to Jaden’s friends,” Roberson said in an email to OHS parents Monday morning.

This morning, the high school was decorated to honor Taylor’s love of archery and students wrote messages in Taylor’s memory that was put on display. 

School counselors and therapists were made available to high school students for grief counseling.

Roberson said students’ grief can often mimic illness and asked parents to keep a close eye on their child in the coming days.

 “Just like adults, when kids don’t know what to say, they often say nothing,” he said.

Common symptoms of grief, like distractibility and sleeplessness, can look like illness and similarly affect a child’s ability to learn. 

If you are a parent of a high school student, please be cognizant of your child’s silence or distractions in the days to come.

If you need support as a parent, reach out to school counselors.

“We have highly-trained counseling staff who have resources to help you and they want to help,” Roberson said.

This is a developing story. Hotty Toddy News will post updates on the wreck and any funeral arrangements as they are made available.

Staff report