Kathryn BRADBURY

1974 - 2006  (32 years)

• Name	Kathryn BRADBURY  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Birth	1974	Wilson, North Carolina
  Gender	Female
  Education	she graduated from the University of South Carolina
  HIST	She played the violin for 23 years and the guitar for 19 years. She played the viola in the Florence Symphony and occasionally for weddings. Students mourn death of teacher BISHOPVILLE – Students at Robert E. Lee Academy are mourning a teacher who was killed Thursday afternoon when a tree fell on her van. Kathryn B. Bailey, 32, of 10 Dixon Drive, was driving a 1998 Pontiac van east on Lee State Park Road just outside of Lamar in Darlington County at 3 p.m. Thursday when a tree fell on the vehicle, killing her instantly, authorities said. Kathy Jackson, head administrator at Robert E. Lee, said the school suffered a traumatic loss. A tribute written by Bailey’s high school chorus students best represents the thoughts of the school’s students and faculty, Jackson said. “Seldom does a teacher teach and inspire at the same time,” the students wrote. “Mrs. Kathryn Bailey did all that and more with our class. From “Do-Re-Mi” to trying to get us to learn to sing melodies with harmony, Mrs. Bailey was a talent all herself. So we happily loved to learn from this amazing woman, pushing us toward a goal to get further with musical achievement. We all loved Mrs. Bailey and we will love her until we see her on the other side.” Darlington County Deputy Coroner Wilbur Vaughan, deputy coroner, said Bailey suffered body trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene by Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardy. “She was driving down the road, and this tree just falls from the woods on her van as she passes by,” Vaughan said. “It was just weird. She went around a curve, and then she was on a straight stretch of the road. If she were driving two miles an hour slower or faster, the tree would have missed her.” Vaughn said the weather at the time of the incident was clear and breezy. “There was some wind, but it was actually breezier the day before,” he said. “It was a rotten tree. You could tell that.” An autopsy will not be performed, Vaughan said. Two of Bailey’s children, who attend Robert E. Lee, were in the back seat of the vehicle and reportedly suffered minor injuries. They were released to their grandparents’ custody at the scene. Everyone in the vehicle was wearing a seatbelt, Vaughan said. The van ran off the right side of the road and landed against a tree, he said. “There was damage to the front of the van, and the air bags were deployed,” he said. “But she died of injuries suffered from the tree falling on the vehicle.” Bailey was on the way to pick up her third child, who attends day care in Lamar, officials said. Bailey, in her second year at REL, taught music at the elementary- and middle-school level and was the high school chorus director. Jackson said Bailey was dedicated to her students. “Whenever she had to miss school because one of her children was sick, she would be very concerned about her students,” she said. “She cared about her students. And she was also a good mother. She loved her children very much. “She was very talented,” Jackson said. “She was giving guitar lessons to some of our high school students this year.” Contact Staff Writer Randy Burns at rburns@theitem.com or (803) 491-4533. Posted in News01 on Saturday, October 14, 2006 REL teacher killed when tree falls on car A Bishopville school teacher was killed Thursday afternoon in Darlington County after a tree reportedly fell on her vehicle. The South Carolina Highway Patrol said Kathryn B. Bailey, 32, a teacher at Robert E. Lee Academy, a private school in Bishopville, died following the 3 p.m. incident on Lee State Park Road. South Carolina Senior Trooper Sonny Collins said Bailey was driving her 1998 Pontiac van on the road, about three miles east of Lamar, when a tree fell from some nearby woods, striking her vehicle as it passed by. Collins said there were two children in the van during the incident, both under 16 years old, who were treated for minor injuries. All, he said, were wearing their seatbelts. According to Robert E. Lee Academy's Web site, Bailey, a mother of three, graduated from the University of South Carolina and taught music for six years in Columbia, Kingstree and Florence. She played the violin for 23 years and the guitar for 19 years, the site says. Bailey also played the viola in the Florence Symphony and occasionally for weddings. Authorities said the crash is under investigation. No other information was available as of late Thursday night. Contact Staff Writer Crystal Owens at cowens@theitem.com or (803) 774-1270. Posted in News01 on Friday, October 13, 2006  [1, 2, 3]
  Occupation	she taught music for six years in Columbia, Kingstree and Florence, (South Carolina); she was a music teacher at Robert E. Lee Academy  [1]
  _UID	1855B4A0B12243FB942F7036CDFC50A8FCAD
  Death	12 Oct 2006	Lee State Park Road just outside of Lamar, Darlington County, South Carolina
  Burial	14 Oct 2006	funeral services held at Bethlehem United Methodist Church   [1]
  	Hancock-Elmore-Hill Funeral Home, Bishopville, South Carolina
  Person ID	I192754	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	3 Dec 2011

  
  

  Father	Edwin O. BRADBURY
  Mother	Kathryn JONES
  _UID	564684F5BD2F459BB75A67193A74174980F9
  _UID	564684F5BD2F459BB75A67193A74174980F9
  Family ID	F130904	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Scott BAILEY
  _UID	1BB8C1C14AF2403EB48160A8AC7C3D954641
  _UID	1BB8C1C14AF2403EB48160A8AC7C3D954641
  Children	1. Living   2. Living   3. Living
  Family ID	F130903	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	23 Mar 2026

  
  

• Sources

  [S7750] Kathryn B. Bailey. [S7751] Students mourn death of teacher - Music instructor Bailey, 32, killed in van by falling tree. [S7770] REL teacher killed when tree falls on car. [S7909] Family struggles with loss - Memories of wife, mother, teacher provide some comfort. [S11006] Rufus D. Stuckey Jr.