Friends and family of a teenage driver who died in a car crash this week gathered at his Powder Springs home Thursday to remember the young man.

Tyler Sargent, 18, died Wednesday about 7:30 p.m. after the car he was driving northbound on Mars Hill Road crossed into the southbound lane, near Hermitage Drive.

The car, a 1997 Mercury Sable, sideswiped a 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche. The driver of the Avalanche, a 39-year-old Kennesaw man, was not injured, but the Mercury hit a utility pole and caught fire, said Sgt. Dana Pierce, a Cobb police spokesman.

Tyler graduated in May from Harrison High School and had recently sent an application to Georgia Highlands College, said Kristen Broadway, the girlfriend of Tyler's brother, Jake.

He was thinking of becoming a teacher, his family said.

Tyler was a sweet, gentle young man, said Sherron Davis, his aunt.

His passion were horticulture — he planted all the flowers and in the front yard and some of the neighbors' yards, Davis said.

"He was the best. He loved old people, young people. Everybody," Davis said. "And everybody loved him."

He was "an old soul in a young body," said Ed Sargent, his father. "We used to tease him about that. He liked that."

Speed may have been a factor in the accident, Cobb police said. But Tyler's relatives think he may have lost control on the curving, narrow road.

His family said Tyler was a careful driver. Davis said that he didn't even like to have her children, ages 4 and 6, in the in the car with him.

"He wasn't your typical teenager. He didn't cuss or swear or any of that. He was polite," said Bill Sargent, his uncle.

There will be a visitation at Carmichael Funeral Home, 1130 Whitlock Ave. NW Marietta, on Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m. memorial service.

Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this report.