Sarah Harmening’s mom Karen choked back tears as she read her daughter’s final journal entry before her mission trip to Botswana with her Alabama youth group.
“I was just reminded of why I’m here,” she wrote, “and that God called me here, and he’s done so for a reason. So I know he’s going to do incredible things.”
The 17-year-old was killed when a bus from Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Huntsville, overturned onto a black Mercedes sedan, injuring the youth group passengers. Harmening had been afraid to travel, but her faith in God restored her confidence in going, her family said at a news conference late Thursday night.
The bus was 13 miles west of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport at the time of the crash. First responders at the intersection of Camp Creek Parkway and Merk Road extricated one victim from the bus. The wreck shut down the roadway for roughly six hours.
The cause of the crash has not been identified.
A church deacon was driving the bus, according to WAAY-TV in Huntsville. Fulton County police said 38 people were on board the bus. Atlanta area hospitals treated 33 people.
Three of the injured were taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, six were taken to Atlanta Medical Center and 15 were taken to Atlanta Medical Center’s south campus. Nine people were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.
Read the full story on ajc.com
About the Author
