Jordan Leah Sullivan, 33, of Louisville, was sentenced to 23 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) on Monday, February 10. Sullivan previously pled guilty to one count of aggravated DUI in Madison County Circuit Court.

On June 24, 2024, Gluckstadt police responded to a wreck on I-55 North. On scene, they discovered that Sullivan had been driving the wrong way on the interstate and hit another car head on.

Tyra Small-Jackson, a teacher at Nichols Middle School in Canton, was the driver of the vehicle that was hit and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Her father and infant child were also in the car but did not suffer any injuries.

According to Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney Bubba Bramlett, officers immediately suspected Sullivan of DUI and located multiple bottles of Fireball whiskey inside the vehicle and smelled alcohol on her. Her blood alcohol content was .241.

Multiple witnesses reported Sullivan was driving the wrong way on the interstate before she struck Small-Jackson’s vehicle. Officers located the liquor store and obtained a copy of the receipt where she had purchased 20 airplane bottles that morning. Bramlett said the officers also discovered text messages where Sullivan admitted to drinking prior to the accident.

Small-Jackson was a Canton native. She was selected as Nichols Middle School’s 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year and received numerous awards during her tenure in the district.