There’ll be 14 employees of the DeKalb County state court system in the southeast Georgia city of Swainsboro on Saturday, but they won’t be happy about the reason.
They'll be attending funeral services for Raja Andrews, a co-worker who was killed last week in a single-car accident in Swainsboro, his hometown. Andrews was there for his father's funeral.
Andrews, who was 31, was well known to Georgia Southern University football fans as one of the top receivers in school history. But to employees in the traffic division of DeKalb’s state court, he was a responsible leader of the team who collected and managed fines and fees, as well as interacting with vendors.
“It’s incredibly sad and tragic,” state court clerk Melanie Wilson said of Andrews’ death. “People were crying” when they found out. “They were genuinely distressed and shocked.”
Word of Andrews’ death reached DeKalb County over the weekend.
Emotions were such that his former colleagues held a remembrance event Wednesday, Wilson said. It included pizza from Savage Pizza, a favorite of Andrews, and a video presentation that featured photos of family members and YouTube clips of his football career. There was hip-hop music, and people spoke of their personal memories of Andrews.
Also, DeKalb sent in a grief counselor for individual and group sessions with employees.
Services will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Swainsboro City Auditorium, according to an announcement.
Andrews joined the DeKalb court system in 2013, having worked previously in Savannah. “He was mature beyond his years,” Wilson said. “I had no idea he was that young.
“He is going to be missed.”
Andrews’ father, Isiah Andrews, was the former head football coach at Emanuel County Institute. His mother, Kathy, died in March 2015 from lung cancer.
About the Author
