Family mourns pregnant 19-year-old, unborn son killed in crash with suspected DUI driver

ATLANTA (WANF/Gray News) - A Georgia family is mourning a 19-year-old pregnant woman who was killed in a crash with a suspected drunken driver after celebrating Thanksgiving.

Jaylah Donald, 19, was in a car with her mother, Takila Donald, just after midnight Friday when they were hit in the passenger side by another vehicle, according to the Georgia State Patrol. Investigators say Takila Donald was “improperly” backing onto Fairview Road in Covington at the time.

Jaylah Donald, who was seven months pregnant, died on the scene, and her unborn son did not survive. Her mother was flown to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she is still fighting for her life.

“When I first got up there, I couldn’t breathe, for one thing,” said Genette Anderson, Jaylah’s grandmother.

Anderson says the whole family was together celebrating Thanksgiving, after which she says Jaylah and Takila Donald left to drop off a neighbor.

“My neighbor, the one that my daughter dropped off, he called me because what he did was, when she dropped him off, he went on in the house. They didn’t notice anything until they saw the ambulances and commotion out there, and then, that’s when he called me,” Anderson said. “I got to be the strong person and accept it because I can’t question God because at the end of the day, we’re all going to have our number.”

Jaylah Donald, a recent graduate of Maynard Jackson High School, told her family she planned to go to college after her son was born – a son she had told her father about only a few hours before she died.

“It was crazy to find out that I was going to be a grandfather, and then a couple hours later, I lose my daughter and my grandson,” said Jonathan Ponds, Jaylah’s father. “I was actually very ready to embrace the role.”

More than 50 people released dozens of purple balloons in the night sky Sunday, honoring the lives of Jaylah Donald and her unborn son.

“Love your family, that’s all I can say,” Anderson said.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Jaylah Donald’s family with funeral and memorial costs.

GSP’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is investigating the crash. Investigators suspect the driver of the car that hit the Donalds was under the influence. Charges are pending for both drivers involved in the crash.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, between 2019 and 2023, drunken driving accounted for more than one-third of all fatalities in traffic crashes during Thanksgiving festivities.