The mother of a 22-year-old Georgia State University student is speaking out after she lost her daughter just weeks before her graduation in a hit-and-run car accident.
According to reports from the Atlanta Police Department, Raven Jeffress’ vehicle was hit head-on by a Honda Accord on March 25 near the intersection of Langford Parkway and Fleet Street in southwest Atlanta.
The Honda was reportedly traveling the wrong way onto the exit ramp and crashed into Jeffress. Witnesses told police that they spotted two men jumping out of the car and fleeing from the scene after the accident.
“A piece of me was taken, a piece of my family was taken,” said Jeffress’ mother Pamela Elder Mobley to WSB-TV Atlanta. “She was just amazing.”
Mobley mentioned that her daughter was on the dean’s list at Georgia State, a cheerleader, and a mental health advocate.
“She was going to go to grad school and ultimately become a psychologist,” said Mobley to WSB-TV.
The police incident report said that a witness stayed with Jeffress who was unresponsive until first responders arrived.
“The thought of her having to go through this by herself and them just leaving her like that, it hurt really bad,” Mobley said.
Mobley said her daughter was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital and the doctors told her that she had no brain activity. She reportedly passed away three days later. Her family said she is an organ donor.
“This was avoidable,” Mobley said.
“She lit up a room. She lit up any space she was in, even when she was asleep.”
Mobley told reporters that Jeffress aspired to be a therapist after graduation and that she’d started the nonprofit Alignment of the Mental Physical Spiritual Wellness while at Georgia State.
Atlanta Police told Mobley that the car wasn’t stolen but was uninsured. They are working to find out who was driving the vehicle, according to WSB-TV. Police also said that they have reached out to the owner, who was not driving the car at the time of the accident. No arrests have been made.
Authorities haven’t released any description of the two men spotted fleeing the scene of the accident.
On April 1, a balloon release to celebrate Jeffress’ life was held by classmates and friends of Jeffress at Hurt Park near the Georgia State campus.
Her mother wrote a caption on Facebook that stated in part, “Ugghhhh I hate this even have to be a thing!! This is suppose to be a graduation post anywho!! If you are not able to make it tomorrow please release a balloon at 2:22pm from wherever you are in solidarity.”
