Fighting for life: School holds healing session for student hit by Tesla while getting off school bus

A community is pulling together to show their support for a teenager who is fighting for his life after being hit by a car Wednesday while getting off a school bus in Halifax County.

Tillman Mitchell, 17, was on his way home from Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School in Warren County when he was struck by 51-year-old Howard Gene Yee, driving a 2022 Tesla Model Y. The school bus stop arm was out when the Tesla hit Mitchell, according to highway patrol.

Mitchell is currently at WakeMed with life-threatening injuries. His principal Melissa Richardson told WRAL News he is expected to undergo a big surgery on Thursday.

Richardson says Mitchell, who is in 10th grade, is beloved by his classmates and school community.

"He's very popular at Haliwa Saponi School. He has a lot of friends, so it was just touching," she said.

School staff at the Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School held a healing session for Mitchell on Thursday, and allowed students to be released early, allowing the school body of 150+ students to process what happened to their classmate. Nearly 30 people stuck around to talk through their feelings. Support staff were on hand to help students process the traumatic event.

According to Sgt. Christopher Knox of State Highway Patrol, this was a case of distracted driving. WRAL News asked him if Yee's Telsa was in autopilot mode, and if that could have played a role.

"We are looking at that," he said. "That's not definitive yet. We just believe the driver was distracted. Whether there was an autopilot feature in play or not, that's something we hope to determine today and in the coming days."

Mitchell’s school family is using this traumatic event to warn about the dangers of distracted driving.

"It could have been any one of us," said Richardson. "Be careful and just pay attention."

The school has ordered a school bus with a camera on the stop arm for future safety purposes, and are hoping it'll arrive by fall.

Yee was taken to the Halifax County Sheriff's Office, where he was charged with passing a stop school bus striking a person and reckless driving. Video of his car showed a large dent in the hood and a shattered windshield from the impact.

Yee was placed in the Halifax County Jail under a $25,000 secured bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for March 23.