Brothers among teens killed in south Fulton County crash

UNION CITY, Ga. — Police are working to learn what caused a crash that killed three teenagers in south Fulton County.

Jarrett Mumford and Ibrahim Sankoh, both 18 and from College Park, were killed Sunday night in the crash on South Royal Parkway in Union City, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office said Monday.

The third victim was identified as 16-year-old Jaylan Mumford.

According to a family friend, Jarrett Mumford attended Banneker High School and was Mr. Banneker 2015-16.

He and Sankoh were now in college. Jaylan Mumford was a rising baseball star at Banneker before transferring to Westlake. Grief counselors will be on hand at school to help students.

The three had just finished attending Banneker’s homecoming celebrations and were on their way home when their SUV flipped over.

“I just heard like violent, like the car was flipping, like when you hear metal crunching,” said witness Michael Thrasher. “I actually heard it before I saw it.”

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Thrasher said he can't believe what he saw at the scene.

"(I) came around the corner and I saw that the truck was upside down, then I saw there were some girls that were hysterical,” Thrasher said.

Thrasher said he immediately recognized the Mumford brothers.

“My first instinct was to help but I didn’t want to touch anybody so I just dialed 911. It's just a tragic situation because they were good kids,” Thrasher said.

Police said it's still unclear what caused the crash. The people in the other car survived.

Close family friends said the brothers were good kids, star athletes who would do anything for anyone. %

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The Mumords’ parents are very well known in south Fulton County. They run the sports programs at Old National Park.

They said the loss is hitting this close-knit community hard.

"Wonderful family in the community. It's a devastating loss,” said family friend Tijuana Anderson.

On social media, people posted condolences using the hashtag #ripmumford.

"They some loving kids. You would never think anything would happen to them,” said friend Raymond Gosha.

Sankoh’s mother, Khadijatu Sankoh, said her 18-year-old son was her best friend. %

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“I miss him so much,” she said. “He was so humble. I never had any trouble with Ibrahim since he was little. I’ve never had any trouble with him.”

She says she got a call about the crash and rushed to the scene.

“When I went there, there was a guy at the gas station, at the BP station told me, the boys, they were dead,” she said.

Ibrahim Sankoh’s dad said his son wanted to be an engineer.

“I’m going to miss him. Everybody’s here today, family members, and it’s tough,” he said. “We're originally from Sierra Leone, and we are Muslims, and in our faith, we believe god almighty gives lives and takes lives.”

Khadjatu Sankoh says her son promised to build her a house once he graduated college and started earning money. She says her life is shattered.

“I talked to him about anything. He's my best friend and I miss him very much,” she said through tears.

Cox Media Group