A South Carolina woman named the 2025 “Teacher of the Year” and known for her “kindness” is now suspended from her job after being accused of trying to run over the father of her child in a Walmart parking lot in a Charleston suburb.

Police have also accused Sade Delesia Nacheyle Nelson of physically assaulting the father and his girlfriend during a custody exchange on October 18, according to news reports.

The 37-year-old woman, a counselor at St. John’s High School in the city of Charleston, allegedly punched the man and his female companion before speeding toward him with her car in the discount store’s parking lot located in the town of Summerville, about 20 miles northwest of the city.

Surveillance video, according to reports, allegedly confirms the vehicle assault, with the child’s father jumping out of the way to avoid impact.

A spokesman for Charleston County School District told the Daily Mail that the district “can confirm that Ms. Sade Nelson has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation” and declined to comment any further.

Authorities have thrown the book at the woman. She has been charged with assault and battery, domestic violence, and unlawfully placing a child at risk of or causing harm or willfully abandoning a child, according to the Summerville Police Department.

A police report obtained by the Mail shows that the man, whose name was withheld, told officers he “opened the front passenger door to get his son when Nelson grabbed his hoodie and began punching repeatedly.”

However, Nelson, according to the report, claimed to police that the father attacked her and their son first after opening the car door. She also told police he later knocked her to the ground, a move which apparently was confirmed by surveillance video.

Bystanders apparently intervened as the two scuffled. Nelson reportedly fled the scene before police arrived.

Nelson has worked for Charleston County School District since 2012 and the high school for the past three years.

When she was named Teacher of the Year in January, “tributes online praised her as ‘simply amazing’ and highlighted her kindness,” the Mail reported.

Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.