Xaylyn Karney Killed in Bus Accident near Maple Hill, NC

Pender County, NC — January 20, 2026, one person was killed in a school bus accident on State Highway 53 near Maple Hill.

Authorities said a car and a Pender County Schools bus collided head-on east of Shaw Highway.

The driver of the car, 24-year-old Xaylyn Kayne Karney, died from injuries suffered in the crash, according to authorities. He was a Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville.

The bus driver and 24 students from Heide Traske High School were checked out at a local hospital, authorities said, but none suffered any major injuries.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Pender County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When folks hear about a deadly crash between a school bus and a passenger vehicle, especially one that leaves a young Marine dead, the first question on most people’s minds is, How could something like this happen? A head-on collision doesn’t just occur out of nowhere; something caused one of those vehicles to end up where it didn’t belong. And right now, we don’t have that answer.

Authorities say a car and a Pender County school bus collided head-on along Highway 53, but they haven’t said which vehicle crossed over or why. That’s a huge piece of the puzzle. Depending on whether the bus or the car was in the wrong lane, entirely different legal and factual questions arise. We don’t yet know if this crash involved driver error, mechanical failure, road conditions or something else altogether.

For example, if the school bus drifted out of its lane, we’d want to know what the driver was doing in those moments before the crash. Was he distracted? Did something fail on the bus mechanically? On the other hand, if the Marine’s vehicle entered the bus’s lane, the same questions apply in reverse. Was he possibly avoiding something in the road? Did his vehicle suffer a blowout or mechanical issue? Without those facts, we can’t begin to understand what really went wrong.

That’s why a thorough investigation matters so much in cases like this. Both vehicles involved should have data from their engine control modules (ECMs) downloaded and analyzed to help reconstruct how fast each driver was going, whether brakes were applied and what steering inputs were made. If either vehicle had dash cams or nearby surveillance picked up the crash, that could offer even more clarity. Cell phone records may also be relevant to rule out distraction.

And when a school bus is involved, it’s also worth asking how the driver was screened and trained. Was this someone with a history of incidents? Did the school district have policies in place to monitor or evaluate their drivers? I’ve worked on cases where poor hiring and training practices turned out to be a bigger issue than anyone expected at the start. These are all avenues that a serious investigation must explore.

At this point, we only know that one young man lost his life and that many students were onboard the bus. But we don’t yet know why. And until that’s answered, there’s no way to know who, if anyone, failed to do their job.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s unclear which vehicle crossed into the other’s lane, and that’s central to understanding who may be at fault.
• A full investigation should include black box data, dash cam footage and phone records to reconstruct the events before the crash.
• School bus driver hiring and training practices may be relevant, depending on who crossed the center line.
• No assumptions should be made about fault until investigators gather and analyze all the available evidence.
• The goal is not blame for its own sake, but accountability based on facts, not speculation.