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Pointe Coupee Parish mourns the loss of longtime teacher

6 years 1 month 6 days ago Tuesday, February 20 2018 Feb 20, 2018 February 20, 2018 5:15 PM February 20, 2018 in News
Source: WBRZ

NEW ROADS - A small community north of Baton Rouge is mourning the loss of one of their own. On Monday afternoon, False River Academy teacher Edith Atkinson tragically lost her life.

Atkinson's husband accidentally pinned her between his truck bumper and a school bus Monday. Those who knew Atkinson called her a good soul and always willing to help others.

“It's very depressing for both sides,” said Evelyn Gaspard.

The reality of what happened at a New Roads school is still settling in for those who knew Atkinson, including Gaspard.

“She's a very good person, a good teacher,” she said.

Gaspard lives just four miles from the teacher and her husband.

“They were such a good couple together, they were alike in so many ways,” said Gaspard.

Police say Atkinson was walking around the back of her husband's truck on the school campus when his foot slipped off the brake and hit the gas by mistake. Atkinson was pinned between the truck and a school bus, dying from her injuries. In honor of her memory, False River Academy hung up two ribbons outside of the school.

“I remember her from grade school, she was a strict disciplinarian. And all of the kids, she treated everyone the same way,” said New Roads Police Chief Kevin McDonald.

McDonald was one of many who learned valuable lessons from Atkinson during her nearly 30-year teaching career.

“It definitely makes it harder to grasp,” said Chief McDonald. “Of course, we never thought we'd get a call of that magnitude like that. It's just gotten everyone saddened, in tears at this point."

The police chief says he also knows Edith Atkinson’s husband. He always made him laugh and was fun loving when they were deputies together. McDonald says the husband is still in the hospital, to his knowledge, recovering from what happened.

The investigation has been sent over the DA's office, and no charges are expected to be filed.

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