Driver for Harbert Hills Academy killed in crash, student injured

Oct. 5– A Savannah man died Tuesday morning in a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 40 near Nashville.

Raleigh Flint, 77, was killed when the Saturn he was driving was struck in the rear by a Nissan Frontier, causing it to hit four other vehicles, WSMV-TV reported.

A passenger in Flint’s vehicle, Yuna Afakawa, 14, a foreign exchange student, was in stable condition at Vanderbilt. She was the only person injured in the six-vehicle crash.

Flint was a maintenance and work supervisor at Harbert Hills Academy in Hardin County. He had previously taught physics at the school, Harbert Hills Principal Joe Simpson said.

Afakawa had traveled from Japan to attend Harbert Hills and had just been picked up at the airport by Flint, whose duties included transportation.

"Raleigh was such a blessing to all of us. He had such an intimate relationship with both students and staff," Simpson said.

According to the principal, Flint’s vehicle flipped multiple times after it was rear-ended and Flint was pronounced dead at the scene.

In a telephone interview with The Courier from the hospital this morning, Simpson said he is hopeful Afakawa will be released today.

Marlene Veland, an administrative assistant at Harbert Hills Academy, said the school’s American flag is flying at half staff in Flint’s honor.