People across North Georgia are mourning the loss of a 3-year-old girl who died in a single-vehicle wreck in Lumpkin County. Rocky Rae Barron passed away Thursday, July 13, after the vehicle she was riding in overturned in the Chestatee River east of Dahlonega.
According to the Georgia State Patrol’s preliminary report, Rocky’s mom, Cadie Barron, was driving a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk in the area of Whitewater Trail. As she entered a private drive, the tires ran off the driveway, causing the vehicle to travel down a steep embankment. The vehicle struck the roadway of Whitewater Trail, traveled down a second embankment, and overturned into the river.
Rocky and her mom, and two other juveniles traveling with them were trapped inside the vehicle. Rocky died at the scene, troopers say.
The 38-year-old Barron sustained minor injuries. The state patrol did not release information on the other two occupants.
State troopers say no charges are being filed at this time.
Grief-stricken community
Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard posted a video on social media asking the community to pray for the family and for the first responders who worked the wreck.
“I thank everybody for their service last night. I wish we could have had different results, but that was not the Lord’s will,” he said. “Let’s comfort the family as much as we can.”
Cadie Barron and her husband Jay Dee are both teachers at Lumpkin County High School. School administrators released an announcement expressing their “great sadness” at the family’s loss. They asked the community “to pray for this family today, tomorrow, in the coming weeks and months.
The high school is raising money to help the Barrons pay for their daughter’s funeral. If you’d like to donate by check, include their name in the memo and mail it to Lumpkin County High School at 2001 Indian Drive, Dahlonega, Georgia, 30533.
Lauren Ruark of Cornelia has also set up a Go Fund Me account to help the Barrons with funeral and medical expenses. As of Saturday evening, donors had contributed over $18,000.
“Everyone who knew Rocky can recall her laughing eyes, contagious smile, vivacious personality, and her kind-hearted soul,” says Ruark. She says the Barrons and their two other children are “devastated by her passing.”
Whitfield Funeral Home in Demorest is handling the funeral arrangements.
