A mother of three who taught middle school in Citrus County was killed while she was driving her children to school on Wednesday morning after an Ocala driver turned his dump truck in front of her vehicle, causing a fatal crash that also injured her three children.
The accident took place along West Homosassa Trail in Citrus County on Wednesday, March 12, at around 7:03 a.m.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a 34-year-old man from Ocala was driving a dump truck westbound on West Homosassa Trail when he attempted to turn left into 4816 West Homosassa Trail.
According to FHP, the dump truck entered the path of a Dodge minivan being driven by 50-year-old Crystal Hix Jackson of Homosassa.
The van struck the dump truck and caused fatal injuries to Jackson.
Her three children, a 16-year-old girl, 15-year-old girl, and 12-year-old boy, were riding as passengers in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
All three children were injured in the crash and were transported to local hospitals.
According to Citrus County Chronicle reporter Casmira Harrison, Jackson was a Social Studies teacher at Lecanto Middle School who loved her children and her students.
Harrison, who was one of Jackson’s best friends, shared a touching tribute to the late mother on social media.
“This is the hardest article I’ve ever had to write. This morning, Crystal Hix Jackson a teacher at Lecanto Middle School died in a traffic crash on West Homosassa Trail. You won’t see in this article how proud she was of her three babies, who were also injured in this crash and are currently being treated at two separate hospitals in Ocala and Gainesville. You also won’t see how very proud she was of the fact that she was able to teach social studies to kids in the school she and I went to together. You also wont read in this article that she was also one of my best friends in the whole wide universe and I loved her so very much. I’m heartbroken today,” said Harrison in the post.
On Wednesday, the school district issued a statement regarding the “profound loss” of Jackson and another of the district’s directors who lost her battle with cancer.
“It has been a difficult day for our Citrus Schools family as our district is feeling the weight of profound loss. Today, we mourn the passing of Lecanto Middle School TEacher, Crystal Jackson, who passed away in a tragic car accident this morning and Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Shawyn Newman, who lost her battle with cancer,” reads a statement from the district. “During this time of sorrow, we ask for your thoughts, prayers, and support for our students, staff, and those who are grieving.”