She was a devoted mother of two, heading home from her 14-year-old’s soccer game, when Pamela Lynne Sitton’s van was hit on the driver’s side in a Cobb County intersection.
Sitton's mother, 74-year-old Julie B. Pugh of Douglasville, was critically injured in the wreck. And her son, 14-year-old Christian, suffered broken bones in his hand. But Sitton, 51, also of Douglasville, died at the scene.
“She was so full of life,” Sitton’s father, Robert Pugh, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “She had a beautiful smile, and was such a good mother.”
On Monday, eight weeks after the crash, the 20-year-old woman accused of causing the wreck was arrested and charged, according to Cobb police. Shanieca Denee Waters drove on the wrong side of the road while she passed another vehicle and was speeding moments before she caused the wreck, according to police.
Waters ran a red light at the intersection of Mableton Parkway and Lee Industrial Boulevard shortly before 9 p.m. on March 28, causing the fatal crash, her arrest warrant states. She had cocaine in her purse at the time of the four-vehicle crash, according to police.
When she drove into the intersection, Waters’ Dodge Magnum struck the driver’s side of Sitton’s Toyota Sequoia, according to police.
Sitton’s mother was released from the hospital late last week, her family said. Sitton’s son was treated for a broken finger and released shortly after the accident, according to police.
The teenager was likely in shock minutes after the wreck, his grandfather said Monday. But the boy never forgot the manners his mother had instilled him, Robert Pugh said.
“When the accident happened, my grandson was still saying, ‘Yes sir’ and ‘No ma’am,’” Pugh said.
After the crash, Pugh drove from his home in North Carolina to the crash site to find the family's dog, which was missing after the crash. Max was later found and returned to the Sitton family, which includes Pamela's husband, Tom, son Christian, and daughter Lauren.
For several years, Pugh said his relationship with Pamela, one of three daughters, had been strained. But about four years ago, that changed. Father and daughter were close again, and their families made new memories, taking trips to the mountains and the beach.
“We had such a beautiful relationship,” Pugh said. “There was a great healing and a love that had been lacking.”
Now those memories are more precious than ever.
In April, an arrest warrant was issued for Waters, who was also injured in the crash. Late Monday morning, she surrendered and was booked into the Cobb jail. Waters was charged with vehicular homicide, serious injury by vehicle, cocaine possession and reckless driving. She was being held without bond Monday night.
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