A Vicksburg native described as a “sweet, sweet sister” who loved kids was killed in a Thursday morning wreck in Canton, family members said.

Laura Langley Ellis, 44, who grew up in Vicksburg and lived in Brandon, died when her Nissan Altima ran into the back of an 18-wheeler on Mississippi 22. Ellis was apparently on her way to work, said her sister, Lacey Lee of Vicksburg.

“She was a sweet, sweet sister,” said Lee. “I can’t think of one disagreement I had with her. She was very kind. She was a peace-maker.”

Ellis, a 1986 graduate of Warren Central High School, was in her first year as librarian at the Canton School of Arts and Sciences, her sister said.

Previously she taught at the McLaurin Elementary School in Florence, Lee said, adding, “She loved kids.”

The wreck occurred just before 7:30 a.m. where Mississippi 22 passes under the Interstate 55 overpass at the Canton exit, said Madison County Coroner Alex Breeland. Paramedics pronounced Ellis dead at the scene.

“She ran into the back of an 18-wheeler trailer,” Breeland said. “Why she did, no one knows.”

Breeland said Ellis was headed east on the highway, and Lacey Lee said family members speculated that the sun was in her eyes as she drove up behind the truck.

Canton police said truck driver Igor Kovalchuk, of Woodbridge, Ill., was not injured.

Breeland, who arrived shortly after the wreck, said he ordered Ellis’ body sent for an autopsy. He declined to release a preliminary statement on the cause of death. Autopsy results were expected today.

Ellis received degrees in business and later elementary education from Belhaven University, said Lee, 36.

“She loved to paint and draw,” her sister said. “When she was younger she was an artist. It was something she liked to do on the side.”

In addition to Lee, Ellis leaves her husband, Todd Ellis, a native of Madison; her mother, Pat Langley of Vicksburg; and sisters Lisa Langley, 42, of Flowood, and Leigh Anne Rymer, 40, of Natchez.

Her father, Robert Langley, died in 2002.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete, but expected to be held in Canton with a graveside service at Vicksburg’s Cedar Hill Cemetery.