Car crashes are always tragic, especially if there is a loss of life. The tragedy is compounded further when one of the people killed is an innocent child who had his or her whole life ahead. That is what happened recently in Thomasville, Georgia, in an automobile accident that took the life of a girl, 6, and her father, 40. The two were traveling home from Valdosta in an SUV when it was hit by an inmate transport vehicle.
The girl’s friends and teachers at Goshen Elementary School, where she was a kindergarten student, were very sad to hear the news of her untimely death. The superintendent of the school district told a television station that both clergy and grief counselors had been made available to students. He said that many people in their small rural community had been affected.
The accident, according to the Georgia State Patrol, happened when the Thomas County inmate transport vehicle attempted to cross multiple lanes on Highway 84. It hit the SUV, causing it to flip multiple times.
The GSP says that charges are pending against the driver of the vehicle, 58. That driver was not seriously injured, even though the father and daughter in the SUV he hit were killed. Police say they believe that only one of the people in the SUV had been wearing their seat belt, though they did not specify which one.
Accidents like this illustrate why it is so critical for drivers to avoid taking chances. Instead, they should make their safety and the safety of those around them the first priority. At the same time, safe drivers should not presume that those around them will drive as they should. It is always important to watch out for poor drivers. Doing so saves lives.
Source: Previously published article on WTOC.com, “Father, daughter killed in Thomas Co. crash,” Cade Fowler, Feb. 23, 2016