HS student killed in wreck was set to graduate, enlist

By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Tri-Cities High School student killed in a head-on collision was set to graduate May 27 and preparing to enlist in the military, school officials said.

Justin Moss, 18, "was a popular student who was well known and played football," Fulton County Schools spokeswoman Susan Hale told the AJC, adding that extra counselors were on hand Monday to help grieving students.

Tri-Cities Principal Dan A. Sims said although Moss was planning to join the military, he also had gotten a scholarship from Benedict College in Columbia, S.C.

"He was a great kid, had a great sense of humor," Sims said. "Like a lot of kids, he took a little time to find his way, but I was really proud of the direction he was headed in."

The accident happened late Saturday night in Southwest Atlanta.

A vehicle traveling westbound on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive crossed the center line and struck a truck at the intersection of Westlake Boulevard, Atlanta police spokeswoman Officer Kimberly Maggart said. Moss, who was driving the westbound vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene, she said.

A passenger in Moss's vehicle was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition, Maggart said. The driver of the truck was taken to Grady in critical but stable condition.

The names of the injured were not immediately available.

- Alexis Stevens contributed to this report.