A memorial service was underway Thursday afternoon for one of the five people killed in a car crash in Bartow County.
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Aimee Odom, 21, died when a Kia van crashed into her SUV along I-75 Sunday evening. Four other people from the same family also died in the accident, including 14- and 6-year-old brothers and their parents.
Channel 2’s Audrey Washington was at Owen Funeral Home in Cartersville on Thursday, where she spoke with one of Odom’s closest friends.
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Emma Mims said she’s been holding it in for days, but now she’s finally letting the tears flow as she remembers her best friend.
“Beautiful, happy and bubbly girl… sorry,” she said in tears. “She was an angel. She loved everyone.”
Mims said Odom was on her way to her house for a graduation party when the accident happened.
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According to Georgia State Patrol, the driver of the Kia left the road on northbound I-75 around 6 p.m. Sunday, crossed the grass bears and landed in the southbound lanes. The Kia then crashed into a Chevy Tahoe and a Toyota 4Runner. Then another car hit both the Kia and the Toyota.
Odom was driving the Toyota.
Mims said she rushed to the gruesome scene when Odom never arrived at the party.
“I saw the front of her car, and the front of it was no longer there,” Mims said.
The other people killed in the first crash were identified as Dakarai and Erin Mason and their son Brandon Crawford. The Freemasons’ two youngest sons were seriously injured and rushed to hospital.
Their 6-year-old son, Titus Mason, died Wednesday.
Odom’s friend, Ally Gray, said her heart goes out to those who knew the Mason family.
“It was such a tragic accident,” Gray said.
Odom was an avid golfer and an only child
Odom’s friends were wearing pink when she woke up because it was her favorite color. Her family is asking people to plant a tree on the Etowah Riverwalk near Sam Smith Park, where she enjoyed spending time.
The community has set up a GoFundMe to help.
