Elementary school teacher killed in crash

Elementary school teacher killed in crash

An elementary school school teacher has been killed after police say a suspected drunk driver slammed into her car head-on.

The crash happened on Highway 11, just north of Manchester, in Clay County.

Police say 31-year-old Beth Denman was one of two people killed in the accident. Denman was a teacher at Bush Elementary School in Laurel County.

Police say Denman tried to avoid hitting a pickup head-on. Police say the pickup was driven by 33-year-old Ronnie Hacker, a suspected drunk driver. Hacker was also killed in the crash.

Friends and fellow teachers at Bush Elementary say Denman was the rock of their school.

Her father tells 27 NEWSFIRST she also worked diligently with him at their mission, The Joy Center, in the Big Creek community of Clay County.

Friends say Denman was at a funeral home last night with another faculty member, who had just lost a parent. They say she was on her way home from counseling them when the crash happened.

Denman leaves behind two children.

A passenger, in Hacker's truck, 30-year-old Bill Richard Henson, was airlifted to UK Hospital. He's currently listed in critical condition.