WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – DeShawn Smith was heading to work around 6 a.m. on Monday when a Polk County school bus struck his Jeep head-on.
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According to investigators, the impact occurred after another car hit the school bus carrying 39 people, causing it to crash into Smith’s vehicle.
Smith, 26, was killed in the crash, as was Adinaluz Prieto Oyola, a 10th-grade student at Winter Haven High School who was onboard the bus. Several other children who were on the bus were taken to the hospital and later released.
Remembering DeShawn Smith
What they’re saying:
Smith’s mother, Tina Griffin, described her son a good child and a kind soul.
“He was just my shadow, my king, my prince, my best friend,” she said. “Like anything anybody asked to do, he would just do it.”
Griffin said her son lived only minutes from where the crash happened.
“He didn’t even make it 10 minutes from the house. It happened six minutes down the road from where he lived at,” Griffin said.
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Griffin said she did not learn about her son’s death until hours after the crash.
“I never got told that my son didn’t make it to work until like 4 o’clock that evening. And I am just so heartbroken,” Griffin said.
Honoring his memory
What you can do:
Griffin wants to ensure her son’s life is never forgotten.
“I just don’t want my son’s death to be overlooked by anyone,” Griffin said. “He was just an innocent victim, and he was just going to work. His life matters just as well as the next person.”
A memorial service for Smith is planned for Oct. 24, which his mother says is open to anyone who wishes to come and pay their respects.
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