Brothers killed in crash were 'exceptional young men'

ROSWELL, Ga. — Two Cobb County students, who were killed when their car ended up beneath a Fulton County school bus in Roswell Monday, are being remembered as "exceptional young men."

Brothers James Pratt, 18, and Joseph Pratt, 14, were on their way to the dentist when the crash happened. The two attended Lassiter High School and were members of the NJROTC program.

"If they'd had the chance, they would have served the community well and we all would have been proud of them," Capt. Jim Minta said with NJROTC.

The brothers leave behind their mom, Jamie, and sisters, Stella and Lilly, as well as a large extended family.

Police said their BMW T-boned the bus carrying four special needs students from Roswell High School.

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The crash sent neighbors running out of their home to see what happened.

"I saw the smoke and the car underneath the school bus,” Lester Wilson said.

The students on the bus were understandably shaken up, but they weren't injured.

A letter to parents and students from principal Chris Richie said:

"With a heavy heart, I must inform you that two of our students, brothers James (Jim) and Joe Pratt, were killed in a car accident on Highway 92 yesterday afternoon. There are no words that ease the pain that has devastated our Lassiter family and left us heartbroken.

"James was a senior and Joe was a freshman, both can only be described as academically motivated, exceptional young men with tremendous leadership potential that we witnessed daily throughout our school and in our NJROTC program."

But this wasn't the only tragedy the Pratt family has lived through.

Last September, Channel 2's Ross Cavitt learned the family's home off Johnson Ferry burned down, a smoke detector saving their lives.

"The kids have been through a lot. Just a few months ago their house burned down and I was there helping get them through those trying times," Minta said.

Lassiter's ROTC family and the community came to their aid then, and they are rallying now once again.

"Now we all need to come together with this family and support them because we are family," Richie said. "A lot of them don't understand death and I don't expect them to a lot of adults don't understand death. But we are going to  deal with it together as brothers and sisters with help of this great administration and we're going to help the family pull through."

Cox Media Group