ATLANTA, Ga. — The survivor of a crash that killed an Atlanta father described their last conversation before the impact.
“Right before, his last conversation was him telling me he gave his life to Christ,” said Takeria Randall.
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She spoke to Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco at a vigil in honor of Chandler Jones Wednesday night.
“He was very happy that day,” said Randall.
The crash happened Saturday, Aug. 29 on Interstate-75 near the Mt. Paran exit in Northwest Atlanta, according to police.
Jones’ family and friends said he played flag football earlier in the day with a wellness and social group he was part of called Hills 4 Atlanta.
Randall said they’d just wrapped up dinner when an SUV crashed into Jones’ car.
Atlanta Police Department accused the SUV’s driver of driving drunk, recklessly, within a barrier and without a seat belt and arrested her that night.
Her name is Amanda Hadden.
According to Fulton County court documents, Hadden is 36 and has a North Carolina address.
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Court records there do show multiple tickets for window tint and speeding dating back to 2017, but all of those cases are listed as closed.
A Fulton County judge denied her bond Monday in connection to the deadly drunk driving.
The Fulton County Public Defender’s Office declined to comment. The judge appointed attorney Nicholas Adams to represent Hadden.
The next court date is set for Sept. 23.
“My life is changed forever. This will always be a part of me. I will never get that out of my head,” said Randall.
She spoke at a vigil in honor of her friend Wednesday night.
Hills 4 Atlanta hosted it in Piedmont Park, and the entire crowd worked out together before a moment of silence.
“To see everybody come together, push through it, even though it’s a tragic time, it actually makes me happy,” said James Branch.
Branch cried when he spoke in front of the crowd. He said he grew up with Jones, and they reconnected as adults. He said working out with the social club was something Jones loved to do together.
“All the workouts this week will be for him,” said Branch. “He will forever be my angel.”
He said Jones attended B.E.S.T. Academy for high school. He played sports there. He went on to play basketball in college at Allen University in South Carolina.
He came back to his hometown of Atlanta where he was a dad, working for his uncle’s moving business.
“Business was good,” said Branch.
Jones’ cousin, Majette Cusimano, spoke on behalf of family at the vigil.
“He was a great father. He was a great friend,” said Cusimano. “You see as everybody came out to support him.”
The crowd chanted, “Rest in power, Chan!” before wrapping up for the night.
By all accounts, the gathering made a heavy loss a little lighter for the moment.
“It shows he made a big impact on everyone, and everyone is here to support his family and be there for us, and they know how much he meant to us,” said Cusimano.
A coach for the wellness group, Marcus Lattimer, told the family, “Thank you for sharing him with us.”
Hills 4 Atlanta has set up an online fundraiser to help them with funeral costs.
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