Family pays tribute to 17-year-old killed in ATV crash

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A family is seeking answers after a four-wheeler crash claimed the life of an Augusta teenager who had her whole adult life ahead of her.

Cheyenne Grace, 17, died Friday night at the scene of the crash at Barton Chapel Road and Blossom Drive.

At the scene on Monday morning was a memorial to Grace that includes flowers, balloons, candles, and photos.

According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the accident happened around 9:22 p.m. Friday. The four-wheeler was struck by a car turning onto Barton Chapel from Blossom Drive, then it traveled into the path of a deputy-driven patrol car.

Grace was pronounced dead on the scene.

The crash is being investigated by the Georgia State Patrol, and the incident report isn’t available yet, so there’s a lot we don’t know.

Her mother says no one has reached out to her about how all this happened, and she still has many unanswered questions.

“I don’t know whether to be mad, happy, or sad. I’m devastated,” said Deshandra Parks, Grace’s mom.

Devastated because Parks says her daughter was so close to being home.

It’s “200, 300 feet from home,” she said. “It’s right there.”

The family says the teenager was in the median trying to cross the road when the car struck her. While she was on the ground, she was hit again by a deputy’s patrol car, according to the family.

“It’s just the way she went for me that hurts the most for me. I’m not supposed to bury my baby, my baby is supposed to bury me,” said Parks.

Still, the family is looking for answers.

“Nobody has said anything to me about what happened, how it happened, or anything,” she said.

Parks says her daughter was wearing a helmet, and the ATV had headlights and turn signals. She says speed has been an issue for some time on this road.

“As you can clearly see and the cars are still flying by,” she said.

They’re hoping to slow drivers down and put up more streetlights.

“We’re going to have some type of law put in or something that’s going to happen from her dying. It’s not going to be in vain. I’ll make sure of that,” said Parks.

Grace was going to be a rising junior at Cross Creek High School. Her mom says she loved to do hair and was aspiring to become a beautician.

By the numbers

Consumer Product and Safety Commission statistics show thousands of young people have died in ATV crashes over the years:

• There were at least 15,744 ATV-related fatalities between 1982 and 2018 in the United States. Of those, at least 3,353 involved children under 16. This represents 21 percent of the total number of reported ATV-related fatalities.
• Although the proportion fluctuates from year to year, children under 12 generally represent almost half of all under-age-16 child fatalities from 1982 through 2018. Of the 3,353 ATV-related fatalities of children under 16 years old, 44 percent were younger than 12.

Also in the news ...

ANOTHER CRASH: On Monday morning, there was another accident near the site of the crash that killed Cheyenne Grace. Thirty yards from the memorial to Grace, another member of her family was involved in a wreck. The accident left the front end of a car crumpled, but didn’t appear serious.

Copyright 2022 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.