Woman Who Crashed SUV Into Preschool Injuring 19 Children Pleads No Contest

A woman who crashed her car into an Anderson preschool has decided to plead no contest in a deal that will put her behind bars for no more than a year. Two counts of felony reckless driving and 14 misdemeanor charges were filed last April against 22-year-old Courtney Dearman. Last week she pled to 16 misdemeanor counts of reckless driving causing bodily injury. She’ll be sentenced February 22nd. On March 3rd of 2022, nineteen young children and one adult were injured when a Suzuki Grand Vitara driven by Dearman smashed through a wall and entered Great Adventures Christian Preschool and Daycare, a cinder block building at the corner of Balls Ferry Road and Martha Street. Anderson Police say the incident occurred as Dearman was trying to find her 18-year-old brother to prevent him from being beat up by some neighborhood boys. Courtney and her mother were driving down Balls Ferry Road when she somehow crashed into the building. The children have all recovered.