She loved her church and at 16 was already an assistant teacher in Bible class. Caelyn Raine Olds was so passionate about her faith, she was handing out fliers Saturday morning about a revival planned at the church where her stepfather is the preacher.
But as she walked along Hood Avenue in Fayetteville, Caelyn, who was also identified as Caelyn Adams, was hit by a driver who didn't stop. An older woman from the Middle Fayette Church of Christ was also hit, but not seriously injured, according to police. Caelyn, who was taken to a local hospital, did not survive.
The older woman’s husband, who was behind her and Caelyn, chased after the pickup truck, Lt. Mike Whitlow with Fayetteville police said. The man flagged down a sheriff’s deputy, who was able to stop the truck, Whitlow said.
Investigators believe the truck’s driver, Marcia Annette Demarcus, was under the influence of drugs when she hit the pair, Whitlow said Tuesday.
“What they believe at this point is that it was prescription medication,” Whitlow told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We won’t know until we get toxicology results.”
Demarcus, 41, was charged with a long list of offenses, including first-degree vehicular homicide, hit-and-run, drug possession and DUI. She was being held late Tuesday at the Fayette County jail on $289,000 bond, booking records showed.
Caelyn's stepfather, Nicholas Adams, is the preacher at Middle Fayette Church of Christ, which had planned four days of services for a revival called "Bible Certainties." Those services were canceled after Caelyn's death.
A native of Natchez, Miss., Caelyn loved to sing, was involved with Fayette County 4-H and lived with her family in Griffin, where she was home-schooled, according to her online obituary. In addition to her stepfather and mother, Casie, she is survived by her father, Jonathan Olds, and numerous siblings and half-siblings in Louisiana and Georgia.
Visitation for Caelyn will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Mowell Funeral Home, Fayetteville Chapel. The funeral will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at the funeral home, with Minister James Pasley officiating. Interment will follow the service at Oak Hill Cemetery, 797 Memorial Drive, Griffin, GA 30223. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Caelyn's memory to Raintree Village, 3757 Johnston Road, Valdosta, GA, 31601.
An online fundraising page was created to assist Caelyn's family. Several people wrote tributes, offering prayers and words of comfort.
“God has all of you wrapped up in his arms,” one person wrote. “May he be your strength through this sad time. We will be praying for all of you.”
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