With summer just ahead, be extra careful out there

The heat, splashy water fun, relaxation, euphoria of a mountain summit, and the seemingly endless potential of the summer ahead in the lush valley below, crashed in a jarring and tragic heap on I- 75 in Bartow County on Sunday evening May 19.

A Kia carrying a father, mother and three children crossed the center median on I- 75/ northbound north of Red Top Mountain Road ( Exit 285) near Cartersville, and careened into oncoming traffiffic. The cable barrier did not stop it from hitting oncoming Toyota and Chevy SUVs. A Hyundai SUV then rear- ended the Chevy. A commercial vehicle also struck the mangled mess, offifficials said.

The family of fifififififive in the Kia lost both parents — Dakari and Erin Mason —

14- year- old Brandon Crawford, and, days later, 6- year- old Titus. Five- year- old Noah is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries but never from the sudden loss of his entire nucleus. The Masons were returning from a church event.

Noah’s mom, Erin, worked a civilian job for Holly Springs Police, sparking a wave of support from the emergency responder community. Family and friends have set up a GoFundMe account for Noah’s medical expenses and future.

The impact also killed 21- year- old Chevy driver Aimee Odom. Her friends told Channel 2 Action News she was en route to a graduation party.

The crash injured several others and shut the freeway down for nearly four hours, causing extreme backups in both directions.

This is a pulsating, heartbreaking alert to the human toll that is the tragic summation of our tiny mistakes in automobiles. Most of our single errors or misjudgments can pass without consequence. The biggest meltdowns often are the result of a series of these decisions.

Memorial Day begins what AAA terms the “100 Deadliest Days” — from the beginning of the summer travel season to Labor Day. New teen drivers are out of classes and have time on their hands. More people make road trip vacations. There are endless numbers of parties — and intoxicated driving. And road crews often are changing the topography of familiar commutes.

Good weather means more traffiffic, in and out of cars. Afternoon popup storms and the subsequent sunset glare on waterlogged roads ratchet up the danger.

Teen driving safety should be top of mind for Atlantans even more so than in recent years. The Lakeside High School student body lost fifififififive members in crashes this past school year. A horrifific crash on Westside Parkway in Alpharetta killed an Alpharetta High School senior and two 18- year- old UGA students, the latter two freshly on summer break. This was just a few days before the Cartersville crash.

A crash in Cherokee County killed a 15- year- old on Highway 92 just days after the Alpharetta wreck.

The common denominators in the Lakeside, Alpharetta and Cherokee wrecks are youth and speed.

No matter who is at fault in a crash — whether they were reckless, inexperienced or victims of cruel circumstance ( which usually means the ineptitude of someone else) — lives are shattered and hearts are broken.

The message remains the same every major travel season ( and year round): People should take more pauses before driving. They should ask if they are alert and sober enough to transport their family. They should consider the risk of doing 20 mph over the speed limit. They should really ask if the reward is worth the risk of answering that text or changing that song behind the wheel.

None of this is to say that every driver who ends up ensnared in an automobile tragedy has to own some part of the blame. Tires blow. Traffiffic stops on a dime. Weather changes instantly. Things happen. But the vast, vast majority of the world’s traffiffic deaths are completely avoidable.

Every day on these streets is dangerous. But summer offffffffffffers its own risks, especially to our precious Gen Z and Gen Alpha future- holders. As we saw on I- 75 near Cartersville, the scope of risk spares no demographic. Experienced and inexperienced drivers perished. A professional driver got swept into the melee. The crash snuffffffffffffed a college- age driver’s future. And a tender 5- year- old will have only memories of the family he had hugged just days before.

We all know this. But no drink, text or overnighter is worth what the world lost on I- 75.

Drive responsibly in this lush, green valley, and Godspeed.

JOHN SPINK/ AJC 2024 Memorial Day begins what AAA terms the “100 Deadliest Days” — from the beginning of the summer travel season to Labor Day — and good weather means more traffiffic. Unfortunately, that also means increased risks, all too often leading to deadly crashes, such as this one in April, involving multiple tractor- trailers in the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 in Henry County.