Heartbreak in Slidell: Grandma Arrested After Her Young Grandson Is Struck and Killed While Waiting for the School Bus
In the quiet hours of Tuesday morning, in the suburb of Slidell, Louisiana, a family’s world shattered in the last possible way. Five-year-old Carson Lawson stood in the driveway of his home, on the cusp of what should have been an ordinary day: waiting for his school bus, the sun just rising, his small routine about to begin. Instead, in a moment that will haunt a community, his grandmother, Kristen Anders, 55, allegedly pulled out of the driveway in a large SUV, unaware that Carson stood in front of the vehicle—and struck him fatally.
According to investigators with the Slidell Police Department, officers arrived at the 300 block of Spartan Loop in the Spartan Trace subdivision shortly after 7 a.m. The family vehicle, described as a 2016 GMC Yukon, was backed into a driveway. Officials say Anders got into the vehicle intending to leave for work. She allegedly did not see Carson standing in front of the SUV. He died instantly.
Investigators determined that Anders was impaired at the time—under the influence of alcohol and central nervous system depressants. A drug-recognition expert at the scene aided in the assessment. Authorities subsequently arrested her on a charge of vehicular homicide and booked her into the St. Tammany Parish Jail with bail set at $50,000.
For the family of Carson, the loss has been described as “the most traumatic and devastating scenario” the boy’s mother, Abi Combs, has ever had to endure. In a heartfelt joint post on Facebook shared with Carson’s father, Ryan Lawson, she wrote: “There is absolutely nothing in this world that I could say to truly express the sorrow I will now and forever have in my heart.” Calling out the suddenness and the nature of her son’s passing, she added: “My baby boy is gone … I am devastated and completely broken. I will never be the same.”
The gravity of what happened that morning rippled far beyond one household. Police Chief Daniel Seuzeneau called it “any parent’s worst nightmare,” acknowledging the shared trauma that extended beyond the family—to first-responders, neighbors, and an entire community stunned by the tragedy. “I spoke with the victim’s mother several times today, and there isn’t anything I can say to make this situation any better,” he stated.
Neighbors described the scene as surreal. Some heard cries echo through the early hours; others watched as a child’s future was extinguished before the day had truly begun. Local media reported that counseling services were made available for responding officers because the emotional toll on those who arrived first was significant.
Among the threads of sorrow there is also the stark collision of innocence and consequence. Carson was only five. He should have been heading to the bus stop, or perhaps peering out for it in the driveway, not facing the unimaginable in his final moments. The grandmother—someone entrusted with care, someone familiar to him—now faces the unthinkable reality of loss and accountability. The investigation continues to determine, with precision, how a routine departure became a tragedy and whether any additional factors—visibility blind spots, negligent monitoring, timing of school-bus pickup—played a role.
For Carson’s mother, the holidays loom with fresh anguish. The photographs she shared—from a newborn wrapped up, to first steps, to his teasing smile—now serve as both memorial and torment. She wrote, “When everyone asks me if I need anything during this time, I truly do not know what to say but I appreciate the thoughts. I don’t know what to do or really what comes next.”
The legal path ahead is sobering. Vehicular homicide charges carry serious consequences, and while the arrest of Anders signals accountability, it cannot ease the grief of a family without its child. For the surrounding community in St. Tammany Parish, questions will linger: What safety nets might have prevented this? How could a child have been in a vulnerable position at the very door of his home? Can a driver, even someone trusted, be truly aware in that moment?
Important to note is that investigators have not made a final determination that this was anything besides a tragic accident. The impairment of the driver is alleged; the scene is under full review. As the coroner’s office and police continue to examine witness accounts, vehicle path, timing, and toxicology, every piece of evidence matters.
Still, beyond the legal details, there is a human cost that defies quantification. There are Carson’s siblings, who now wake up to a changed home; there are grandparents, parents, and friends carrying the weight of “What if?”; and there is a community grappling with the raw reality that tragedy can cross even the most familiar thresholds of everyday life.
In a day when he should have gotten on the bus, Carson instead became the center of a story of accident, loss, and unforeseen consequence. His mother asked for privacy, but also shared the pain: “My baby who was gone way too soon.”
As the family arranges funeral services—one in Slidell and another in Jonesboro, Georgia, where parts of their lives span—they will rely on messages of support, but also on quiet spaces of reflection. The mother expressed gratitude to those reaching out, yet confessed: “I don’t know what comes next.”
For parents everywhere, the alert is both blunt and tender: routines matter, awareness matters, safety matters. A driveway, a familiar vehicle, a moment’s lapse. So much life packed into a small boy waiting for his school bus, and so much sorrow in the wake.
This will not be a story easily forgotten. Carson Lawson’s name now stands among those young lives lost in sudden, tragic circumstances. It will prompt conversations about home safety, awareness of impaired driving, and how the most secure places can unravel in a heartbeat.
In the weeks ahead, the formal investigation will proceed, the court system will take its course, the family will grieve in public and private, and the community will seek healing. But for Carson’s mother, father and siblings, grief arrives early and stays long. The memory of that November morning will be with them always.
And for all who read this, there is a somber reminder: the moments we think of as safe can become heartbreakingly unsafe in the span of an instant. Carson’s life and loss will stand as testament to that harsh truth.
