The new year began with an unspeakable tragedy for a Georgia family. Thomas and Jasmine Agan, parents of three young children, were killed when their car collided with another vehicle while they were driving across state lines into Alabama. What’s most heartbreaking is, neither of them was wearing a seat belt when they crashed. The teen driver who was involved in the head-on collision has life-threatening injuries and remains hospitalized.
Thankfully, the children have a community that is rallying to care for them in the face of this life-changing event.
The fatal crash took place around 5:43 p.m. on January 1, 2026, Coosa Valley News reported. According to the report, 26-year-old Jasmine Agan was driving her 2020 Chevrolet Traverse when the vehicle collided head-on with a 2003 Ford Explorer being driven by a 16-year-old.
Both Jasmine and her husband, 25-year-old Thomas Agan, were killed in the collision and declared dead at the scene. The 16-year-old was airlifted to the hospital, WBRC reported.
Thomas Agan worked at Allatoona Diesel and Automotive in Acworth, Georgia, WSB reported. His coworkers spoke with the outlet, telling them that Agan was a beloved member of their team.
“I feel quiet, don’t really know what to do here today,” technician Brett Gobel said.
The couple has three kids, who are all 4 and younger. It was clear to his coworkers that Agan was a present dad who loved his family. “Whenever he talked about his kids, he always loved them, always had good things to say and even the stories he would tell were hilarious about his kids,” Gobel told WBS.
The team at Allatoona Diesel and Automotive has set up a GoFundMe account for the children, who are with their grandparents.
“Anything and everything we can get our hands on, that is what we are currently looking for at the moment,” owner Drake Winn shared. “I’m here to do whatever it takes to help that family.”
In the fundraiser, Thomas Agan was described as the “backbone of our shop” by those who knew him. “He had a way of making sure you could never have a bad day — always laughing, joking, and spreading joy wherever he was. If you’ve ever been helped by Thomas at the front desk or over the phone, you know exactly the kind of light he was.”
WSB reported that the family of the 16-year-old who was injured in the head-on collision identified him as Jeffery Chaz Lawson in a GoFundMe account.
According to his mother Amanda, who set up the fundraiser, her son was flown to the University of Alabama in Birmingham because of the severity of his injuries. He allegedly died four times, but medical personnel were able to revive him.
“As of now he is critically stable with intensive brain injuries, extreme facial fractures, multiple back fractions, and had a compound fracture on his left leg/foot,” she wrote on the page. He is also still undergoing surgeries and procedures.
Authorities say the collision is still under investigation.
