HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A longtime high school coach and educator is being remembered across Hall County after she was killed in a single-vehicle crash along Interstate 985 earlier this week.
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The Flowery Branch Police Department says officers, along with Georgia State Patrol, responded Tuesday night to a traffic accident with unknown injuries on I-985 northbound near Exit 12.
Georgia State Patrol says a white Ford F-150 was traveling northbound on I-985 around 8:14 p.m., when for some unknown reason the driver, identified as Sylvia Akers, failed to maintain her lane, left the roadway and flipped multiple times before the truck came to a rest on its side.
Police say lifesaving measures were immediately performed at the scene until Hall County EMS arrived and took over medical care. Akers was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where she died from her injuries.
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The FBPD says Akers was a longtime assistant basketball coach and special education teacher at Duluth High School, where she served for 16 years. Colleagues and students described her as a dedicated educator, mentor and friend whose impact extended far beyond the classroom and the court.
“Coach Sylvia was the light of our program,” said Shyla Dunford, head coach of the Duluth High School basketball program. “She was everything we needed her to be- the mentor, coach, comic relief, and truth teller all at once. Her heart was pure and full of love, which she poured into everyone around her.”
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In a statement, the FCPD offered condolences to Akers’ family, colleagues, and students, stating that she was known throughout Hall County and will be deeply missed.
Community members are asked to keep the Akers family, as well as Duluth High School and Hall County communities, in their thoughts and prayers as they grieve this profound loss.
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