Community stunned after 4 dead, 6 injured in I-75 crash in Bartow County

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Just off I-75 at Red Top Mountain Road, Jessica Lopez was working the register at the Sunoco gas station when a deadly crash happened on the highway.

“Some of them were upset because they were sitting in traffic. Some of them were crying,” Lopez said.

Drivers flocked to her store Sunday night after a multi-car crash shut down I-75 southbound in Bartow County near mile marker 286.

“At first all of the gas pumps filled up, and then I had a few people come inside needing the restroom, and they said because they’re sitting in traffic,” Lopez said.

RELATED: 4 killed in crash on I-75 in Bartow County identified

According to the Georgia State Patrol, evidence at the scene indicates that a Kia van was traveling northbound on I-75 when it left the roadway, crossed the grass median, and entered the southbound lanes of I-75. The Kia van collided with a Chevy Tahoe and a Toyota 4Runner, leading to a chain reaction involving two more vehicles.

“They were telling me something about two or three people were already pulled out that didn’t make it. Then some guy came in and said it was between five and six people, and then I saw on Facebook that it was four,” Lopez said.

The Bartow County Coroner confirmed four people died in the crash; 43-year-old Dakarai Mason, 35-year-old Erin Mason and their 15-year-old son Brandon Crawford were in one car. In another car, the deceased victim was identified as 21-year-old Aimee Odom.

Mason was a civilian employee of the Holly Springs Police Department.

“Yesterday, we lost a beloved member of our Holly Springs Police Department family,” the department said in a social media post Monday afternoon. “Please keep the family of Erin and Dakarai Mason in your thoughts and prayers. We ask that everyone be respectful of the family’s wishes for privacy during their time of grieving.”

Odom was a student at Kennesaw State University, the school confirmed.

The news of four fatalities and six other people injured in the crash is leaving the small community stunned.

“There’s not really words you can say to make anything better like that,” Lopez said.

Atlanta News first spoke with Erin Mason’s uncle. He said the family is asking for prayers and privacy at this time.

Bartow County schools also shared a social media post asking the community to pray for Brandon Crawford and his family.