MANNFORD -- The city of Mannford is mourning the loss of a beloved teacher who was killed in a car crash over the weekend.
Dana Woodson had been a teacher for 26 years for Mannford Elementary School.
People are shocked and devastated that the kind woman who taught and nurtured their kids was killed this weekend.
"She took your kid under her wing," Elizabeth Collins, whose children were in her classes, said. "She was like another mom to all her kids."
Her classroom is dark for the summer and after this weekend will never be filled with the light Woodson brought to Mannford Elementary for the last 26 years.
The first-grade teacher's co-workers are still in shock.
"I got calls of 'Oh my goodness, please tell me this isn't true,'" Josh Pierce, principal of Mannford Elementary, said.
The crash happened at State Highway 74 and Waterloo Road in Logan County. Troopers on scene said Woodson was heading west on Waterloo Road and failed to stop at a red light. They said she was struck by a dump truck heading north on Highway 74 and pushed into a stopped tractor trailer rig.
"She loved her kids," Pierce said. "She put students first all the time. She had a great rapport with her kids and with her parents."
She had such a good rapport that she went to her students' sporting events in her spare time. Parents said when the kids would see Woodson in the bleachers, they would scream her name and run over to her for a hug.
"No other teacher had ever put that much emphasis on their student's lives to come to see them play a sport that they love or anything that they love," Collins said.
Collins' daughter and son had her as their teacher. Her son was in Woodson's class this last school year. The kids are devastated.
"I dropped [my daughter] off at daycare and she's crying," Collins said.
Collins said she feels like she lost a family member. She said she is so thankful that her children got the opportunity to learn from Woodson.
"It's going to be really really hard to replace her," Collins said.
Woodson's memorial service is Friday July 6 at 1:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church. She will be cremated and her remains will be buried another day.
People wishing to donate in her honor can give to Mannford Food For Kids Backpack Program at P.O. Box 1511, Mannford, Ok.
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