The son-in-law of County Commission Chairman Bill Hullander was killed, and the commissioner's daughter was seriously injured in a traffic accident in Mexico late Wednesday morning. However, family members said Thursday that Mandy Hullander Horne is expected to fully recover.

Chris Horne, 34, was killed instantly when a vehicle crashed into the car he was occupying with his wife near Baja, Mexico.

Mrs. Horne was airlifted to a hospital in El Paso, Tex.

Her brother, Matt Hullander, said she is in extreme pain, but she did not suffer a serious head injury as the family was first told.

He said she has a broken pelvis and broken ribs, but may be airlifted to Chattanooga as soon as today.

He said the couple was driving on a rough road near Baja when they struck another vehicle head-on. At least one person, and possibly two, were killed in the other car. The couple left their hotel about 10 a.m. to go for a drive and the wreck happened around 10:45 a.m. Baja time.

Mrs. Horne was alert enough at the hospital to give her father's telephone number to workers.

Matt Hullander said she does not remember the wreck, but only waking up in a hospital in Mexico.

Commissioner Hullander and his wife, Linda, and another Chattanooga couple flew to El Paso on a private plane provided by Chattanooga businessman Henry Luken.

Commissioner Hullander found out about the tragic wreck shortly after he had concluded conducting Wednesday morning's commission meeting.

The Horne couple, who were married June 9, were in Mexico on vacation.

Mr. Horne was the new director at Summit Charter School in Cashiers, N.C. The couple had moved there from Jackson Hole, Wyo., at the end of July.

A biography of Chris Horne said he was born in Durham, N.C., but moved around a lot, growing up mostly in northern Virginia. He went to the college of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., majoring in biology as an undergraduate. In graduate school, he got his master's degree in conservation biology.

With aspirations of being a scientist, Mr. Horne said, "It was kind of fun, but it's not what I thought it was. It's a lot of solitary work. I realized that there are schools like Summit that really combine my love for the outdoors and hands-on experiential learning. It's about people and not just being outside."

Mr. Horne was a teacher in Alexandria, Va., from 1995-1997, before moving to Jackson Hole, Wyo., to enroll in a one-year master's program teaching field-based education methods.

He met Mandy Hullander, only daughter of Bill and Linda Hullander, at Jackson Hole.

"I went into schools and taught and then some schools and teachers would come to us," said Mr. Horne earlier about the experience out west. "That's what really opened my eyes to the other ways you could be a teacher, without a coat and tie and standing behind a chalk board. I began to struggle between wanting to be a teacher or a scientist."

Mr. Horne stayed in Jackson Hole for seven years, briefly returning to graduate school from 1999-2001 at Antioch New England Graduate School in New Hampshire, where he earned his master's degree in conservation biology, before returning to Jackson Hole.

"I got hired to help start a school, which was a school that I had kind of been trying to find in my brain for a long time," said Mr. Horne about the private middle school. "I spent a lot of time with students out of the classroom, teaching combined disciplines. The students were learning a lot about the community, but still learning the basics, like reading, math and science. It was pretty aggressive educationally."

Mr. Horne remained in that position from 2001-07, when he decided to come to Summit.

"I realized what a special place this is," said Mr. Horne, who was torn to leave the equally beautiful Jackson Hole area. "It's one of those places you don't think you'll ever leave, but this place is really eye-opening."

Mr. Horne was guiding Summit into its new campus, which is scheduled to open next fall. Construction was slated to begin this fall on the 25-acre property.

At Summit, Mr. Horne was overseeing 25 staff members and about 175 students on campus.

Mr. Horne said in the article he and Mandy enjoyed the outdoors, living a healthy lifestyle and gardening.

The Hullanders operate the Hullco window and siding firm.