He was smart beyond his years, but being in a classroom didn’t suit Justin Jute Garland. He was happier outdoors.
“He was a hunter, he fished,” his mother told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “If there was something outside he could hunt, and kill and eat, he was on it.”
The 17-year-old was home-schooled so he could spend his time working at a Bartow County chicken farm, his mother, Melissa Garner, said. Justin was on his way to work early Wednesday when he was killed in a crash with a train.
“I really don’t believe he ever saw a thing,” Garner said.
Justin, who lived in Adairsville, was driving his 1982 Chevrolet pickup truck on a private drive, crossing over railroad tracks, shortly before 8 a.m., according to the Georgia State Patrol.
Credit: Stevens, Alexis (CMG-Atlanta)
Credit: Stevens, Alexis (CMG-Atlanta)
A CSX train conductor saw the truck and attempted to stop, the State Patrol said.
“The conductor stated they were activating the train horn at the time of the crossing,” GSP said in an emailed statement. “The train was unable to stop, striking the right passenger side door” of the truck.
Garland died from his injuries. The crash, which remains under investigation, happened off Hall Station Road, less than 2 miles from where the teenager’s grandfather lives. His family can’t imagine how he didn’t hear a train horn: there wasn’t a radio in his truck. But heavy fog may have contributed, Garner said.
A day after her aunt’s death, Garner got the call from her oldest son that Justin had been killed in a crash.
“I think I’m still in shock,” Garner said late Thursday. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet.”
Justin wasn’t a risk-taker and was responsible, despite his age. Of her four children, he was the peacemaker, Garner said. Only 13 months separated Justin from his older brother, and he also had two younger sisters he adored.
He was already teaching his 13-year-old sister how to shoot a gun so the two could go hunting, Garner said. Sometimes, Justin would take his sisters to get their nails done and treat them to dinner on their birthdays.
“He would think about everybody else before he ever thought of himself,” his mother said. “He wasn’t a child, he was an old soul.”
In addition to his parents, siblings and grandparents, Justin is survived by his girlfriend, numerous other relatives and countless friends. Funeral arrangements had not been finalized late Thursday.
Word of Justin’s death traveled fast through the small towns of Adairsville and Kingston, both in Bartow. Garner said hundreds of people have reached out to her, sharing their sympathies.
“I knew everybody loved Justin. But I never realized how many people cared about him,” she said. “I’m so proud of everything he accomplished in the short time he was here. He had so much more to give.”
About the Author
