On Saturday, March 5, 2022, at approximately 4:00 am, the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to County Road 103 near County Road 102 for a one vehicle accident.
Deputies arrived on scene and the driver of the vehicle, later identified as Jayden Taylor, 16 years old, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
There were two other juveniles in the vehicle and both were seen at Baptist Memorial Hospital. One of the juveniles was later air lifted to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital for injuries he sustained in the accident. The juvenile has since been released and is at home recovering.
We ask for your continued prayers for the Taylor family in the days ahead and also for the families of the other two young people.
Dear Oxford School District Parents,
On this rainy Monday morning, we have students grieving the loss of a friend and teachers grieving the loss of a student. Over the weekend, an Oxford High School 11th grader passed away in an automobile accident. This accident left two other students injured as well.
Jaden was a valuable teammate on the OHS Archery team and Cross Country. He was known as “a friend to everyone”. 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.
Today, the high school is decorated to honor Jaden’s love for archery. Students are taking time to write messages on display in Jaden’s memory. School counselors and therapists from our various campuses are available to our high school students for grief counseling today and in the weeks to come. In situations like this, teachers become grief counselors too.
Just like adults, when kids don’t know what to say, they often say nothing. 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, please reach out to your child’s counselor as well. We have highly-trained counseling staff who have resources to help you and they want to help.
Sincerely,
Bradley Roberson
Superintendent
Oxford School District
