A planned afternoon of swimming at Sandy Creek Park in Clarke County turned into tragedy for two 10-year old Madison County boys and their families last week.
Evan Escoe, of Hull, was killed instantly Friday afternoon around 1 p.m. when a 2008 Freightliner driven by Thomas Land, 57, Hudson, N.C., slammed into the back of the car Escoe was riding in on Hwy. 441 in Clarke County. His friend, Samuel Hart, Comer, who was seated next to him in the back seat, was critically injured in the wreck and flown to an Atlanta hospital, where he died Saturday afternoon. The 2004 Chevy Malibu, driven by Samuel Hart’s mother, Elisha Hart, 32, was struck from behind by the truck as Hart slowed for a 1998 Ford Taurus that was turning off Hwy. 441 into an auto body shop.
Lt. Don Eckert of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department said charges against Land are pending.
“We have more interviews to conduct and more investigating to do,” said Eckert, adding that the department is waiting for Land’s blood test results from the state toxicology lab, a process that can take a couple of months.
Hart’s 8-year old son, Carter Hart, was seated in the front passenger seat. Ms. Hart and her younger son were taken to an Athens hospital where they were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Escoe, Hart remembered
Both deceased students were rising fifth graders – Evan at Ila Elementary and “Sam” at Comer Elementary.
“My heart goes out to both families,” Madison County School Superintendent Allen McCannon said Monday. “We don’t know what to say, except that we hurt with them. It’s been a very difficult year for us so far.”
The school system also lost middle school student Tyler Moon earlier this spring in an accident with a lawn mower.
McCannon said the school system will keep in touch with the families to offer their assistance in any way possible.
“We may provide counseling services for our students over the summer, if needed,” McCannon added.
SCHOOL MEMORIES
“Evan was a wonderful child,” Ila Elementary principal Lynne Jeffers said. “ He was a good student – well-behaved and a joy for teachers to have in their class.”
Jeffers said Evan had attended Ila since kindergarten, as had both his older siblings.
“He was the baby,” Jeffers said.
“Evan was full of life!” his fourth grade teachers said in a statement sent to the Journal. “He came to school everyday with his motor running. He might have to be reminded that he was at school to work, to which he always politely responded with a ‘Yes ma’am.’ Evan had beautiful handwriting, and the stories he wrote were very entertaining. His boyishness and love of his family flowed out of his stories, which often included tales about family events and outings, such as the time he and his brother, J.T., made a snow toilet instead of a snowman. His fun-loving personality came out during recess time at the end of the day. He always played hard and enjoyed being outdoors. He was very well liked by his peers and teachers and will be missed.”
One teacher had a particularly special bond with Evan, and was asked by his parents to speak at his funeral Tuesday afternoon.
Tami Daniels, who taught Evan when he was a second grader at Ila, laughed as she spoke fondly of him by phone Tuesday morning.
“He had a hard time staying seated in my class,” she said, adding that her favorite quote from him is that he had to stand up because his legs hurt.
“I remember his little hairdo – how his hair hung in his face,” she said. “I kidded him and said, ‘let me just nip that off so I can see those pretty brown eyes.’”
Daniels, who has since moved to pre-K from second grade, said he still came by to see her most every day before class.
“He’d ask me how I was doing and I’d talk with him,” she said. “All my pre-K knew him by name and he’d ask them ‘are ya’ll listening to her?’”
Daniels said she and Evan just had a special bond since he was in her class and that she was honored to be asked by his mother to speak at his funeral.
“She said I know you loved Evan and he loved you,” Daniels said. “…He was a sweet, sweet little boy – he’s unforgettable.”
And she will always remember the last time she saw him, on the last day of school. She said she told him she was moving to Hull-Sanford Elementary School, but would still be keeping “an eye” on him from there as he entered fifth grade at Ila.
“I said, ‘I hope you have a wonderful summer and have fun,’” she remembers. “And he, always so polite, said ‘yes ma’am, I will.’”
Mary Ellen Coggins, Samuel’s fourth grade teacher at Comer Elementary, said he brought her his own oversized UGA bulldog to her as a gift for her birthday last year.
“He said, ‘I brought you something, you’re gonna love it,” she said.
Coggins said Samuel knew she was the “biggest Dawg fan at Comer Elementary” and wanted to do something special for her on her birthday. She said that bulldog will remain her classroom mascot for many years to come.
“Samuel had a kind heart and always thought of others,” she said.
Another teacher, Allison Whitehead, said Samuel was highly thought of by all of his teachers over the years.
“Samuel was a bright student who was intrinsically motivated,” she said. “He always tried his best. He was often described to his parents as ‘good as gold,’ and was a joy to teach at every level.”
Whitehead said he participated in her poetry lessons with the same enthusiasm he had playing football with his friends at recess.
“He was the type of student who could join any group of kids doing any type of activity and make positive contributions,” she said.
His teachers also noted that he had many friends in his grade and other grade levels and that he loved to play football, baseball and soccer, with his favorite being baseball.
He was active in Comer’s “Good News Club” and was slated to be a “Very Special Helper” as a fifth grader this fall.
“His life touched the lives of many others,” Whitehead said. “Samuel had an awesome attitude and rarely let anything get him down. He had sparkling blue eyes and always wore a smile on his face. He will always be lovingly remembered.”
And it is his smile that Comer principal Christine Register said she will always remember most about Samuel.
“Every part of his face lit up when he smiled,” she said. “He was just a happy boy and a wonderful student.”
“My heart goes out to both families,” Madison County School Superintendent Allen McCannon said Monday. “We don’t know what to say, except that we hurt with them. It’s been a very difficult year for us so far.”
The school system also lost middle school student Tyler Moon earlier this spring in an accident with a lawn mower.
McCannon said the school system will keep in touch with the families to offer their assistance in any way possible.
“We may provide counseling services for our students over the summer, if needed,” McCannon added.
SCHOOL MEMORIES
“Evan was a wonderful child,” Ila Elementary principal Lynne Jeffers said. “ He was a good student – well-behaved and a joy for teachers to have in their class.”
Jeffers said Evan had attended Ila since kindergarten, as had both his older siblings.
“He was the baby,” Jeffers said.
“Evan was full of life!” his fourth grade teachers said in a statement sent to the Journal. “He came to school everyday with his motor running. He might have to be reminded that he was at school to work, to which he always politely responded with a ‘Yes ma’am.’ Evan had beautiful handwriting, and the stories he wrote were very entertaining. His boyishness and love of his family flowed out of his stories, which often included tales about family events and outings, such as the time he and his brother, J.T., made a snow toilet instead of a snowman. His fun-loving personality came out during recess time at the end of the day. He always played hard and enjoyed being outdoors. He was very well liked by his peers and teachers and will be missed.”
One teacher had a particularly special bond with Evan, and was asked by his parents to speak at his funeral Tuesday afternoon.
Tami Daniels, who taught Evan when he was a second grader at Ila, laughed as she spoke fondly of him by phone Tuesday morning.
“He had a hard time staying seated in my class,” she said, adding that her favorite quote from him is that he had to stand up because his legs hurt.
“I remember his little hairdo – how his hair hung in his face,” she said. “I kidded him and said, ‘let me just nip that off so I can see those pretty brown eyes.’”
Daniels, who has since moved to pre-K from second grade, said he still came by to see her most every day before class.
“He’d ask me how I was doing and I’d talk with him,” she said. “All my pre-K knew him by name and he’d ask them ‘are ya’ll listening to her?’”
Daniels said she and Evan just had a special bond since he was in her class and that she was honored to be asked by his mother to speak at his funeral.
“She said I know you loved Evan and he loved you,” Daniels said. “…He was a sweet, sweet little boy – he’s unforgettable.”
And she will always remember the last time she saw him, on the last day of school. She said she told him she was moving to Hull-Sanford Elementary School, but would still be keeping “an eye” on him from there as he entered fifth grade at Ila.
“I said, ‘I hope you have a wonderful summer and have fun,’” she remembers. “And he, always so polite, said ‘yes ma’am, I will.’”
Mary Ellen Coggins, Samuel’s fourth grade teacher at Comer Elementary, said he brought her his own oversized UGA bulldog to her as a gift for her birthday last year.
“He said, ‘I brought you something, you’re gonna love it,” she said.
Coggins said Samuel knew she was the “biggest Dawg fan at Comer Elementary” and wanted to do something special for her on her birthday. She said that bulldog will remain her classroom mascot for many years to come.
“Samuel had a kind heart and always thought of others,” she said.
Another teacher, Allison Whitehead, said Samuel was highly thought of by all of his teachers over the years.
“Samuel was a bright student who was intrinsically motivated,” she said. “He always tried his best. He was often described to his parents as ‘good as gold,’ and was a joy to teach at every level.”
Whitehead said he participated in her poetry lessons with the same enthusiasm he had playing football with his friends at recess.
“He was the type of student who could join any group of kids doing any type of activity and make positive contributions,” she said.
His teachers also noted that he had many friends in his grade and other grade levels and that he loved to play football, baseball and soccer, with his favorite being baseball.
He was active in Comer’s “Good News Club” and was slated to be a “Very Special Helper” as a fifth grader this fall.
“His life touched the lives of many others,” Whitehead said. “Samuel had an awesome attitude and rarely let anything get him down. He had sparkling blue eyes and always wore a smile on his face. He will always be lovingly remembered.”
And it is his smile that Comer principal Christine Register said she will always remember most about Samuel.
“Every part of his face lit up when he smiled,” she said. “He was just a happy boy and a wonderful student.”
I am sure these three young men will be remembered by their classmates for their entire lives, so the parents and family should be comforted to know that these boys will live on in minds and hearts for years to come. My small community lost a member about the same age as Tyler in the mid-1960s. To this day, I think about that boy everytime I hear about a death of someone on a motorcycle, or see a motorcycle at that particular intersection. Over the course of the next several years, several more young people from the county left us due to horrible traffic accidents. Each of those are remembered fondly to this day, will continue to live in our hearts and minds and will contine bring a smile to our face for years to come.
For the parents and family of these boys, I know that your losses are great, and your hearts are completely broken. However, I hope you will have some comfort in the knowledge that these boys will never really be gone and forgotten. They will live in the hearts and lives of all those classmates who knew and loved them for years to come. The parents of several of the classmates we lost at young ages have gone on, but the children they lost still live in our hearts and will until all of us 60-somethings who knew and loved them are gone. Your boys will be remembered and loved this long as well.