Remembering TN probation officer killed in crash on way to work

COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WKRN) – The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is mourning the loss of one of its probation and parole officers.

Elaina McMinnis was killed in a car crash in Lawrence County while she was driving to work on July 19.

The 34-year-old worked as a state probation and parole officer for five years with the District 51 field office, which covers Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Maury, Perry, Wayne and Williamson counties.

Crystal Gray, district director for the TDOC, described McMinnis as the “mother hen” of their team. 

“This loss has affected us personally and professionally,” Gray said. “She had a calming effect about her. You never saw her really frustrated, and she let that calming effect go across the office. She would do anything for anybody. She was the caretaker for us, and she was the caretaker for her family.”

McMinnis’ coworkers said she was dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of offenders and protecting the people and places she served.

“She is the epitome of what a probation parole officer should be and who we want to be,” Gray said. “She was firm with our offenders however she’d empower them. She chose kindness with everything that she did. We often teased her because we said that she would take in every stray that she found and let’s be real, the streets found her because she had a heart for people and she had a heart for animals.”

Gray said McMinnis’ impact was far-reaching, which she attributed to the outpouring of support from community members and agencies across the state, many of whom didn’t know her personally. 

“We had probation and parole officers and community supervision staff from Johnson City to Memphis reaching out to offer condolences,” Gray said. “We have staff from one side of the state to the other stepping up to do our jobs for us to give us that time to grieve. Her funeral procession was almost three miles long with people from across the state coming in to honor her memory.”

Even in her death, McMinnis is continuing to give life through organ donation. Her coworkers participated in her honor walk in Nashville. 

As they work to navigate a new normal without McMinnis, Gray said she and the entire District 51 team are doing their best to make sure her legacy lives on.

“I challenge all my staff to each take Elaina with them every day and choose kindness because that’s what she would do,” Gray said.

McMinnis leaves behind a 17-year-old son with special needs and a young foster daughter.

If you’d like to help McMinnis’ family with unexpected expenses, you can donate on their GoFundMe page.