Schools Rally Around Lassiter After 2 Brothers Die In Crash

EAST COBB, GA -- In the wake of the tragic deaths of two students at Lassiter High, the academic community is rallying around the East Cobb school, sending condolences and offering support during a difficult week for the students, staff and faculty.

Brothers James "Jim" Irving Pratt, 18, and Joseph "Joe" Thomas Pratt, 14, were on their way to the dentist Monday when the car they were in collided with a special-needs school bus from Roswell High School. Two siblings were pronounced dead shortly after the accident around 1 p.m. The students aboard the bus were uninjured.

The impact of the accident, which occurred at Georgia Highway 92 (Woodstock Road) near West Road, was so hard that the Pratts' car was lodged under the bus.

Read more: 'No Words': Lassiter High School Mourns Brothers Killed In Crash

Schools around the area and beyond took to social media to share their regards for Lassiter High, a well-known Cobb school known for academic achievement.

A day after the tragedy, students said the school was eerily silent. “If there were no tears, there was nothing. It's hard because it affects the whole school it wasn't just the seniors, sophomores or the freshman, it was school wide,” student Madison Mikulak told WAGA-TV.

Pope High School in Marietta said on Twitter: "Our students and staff grieve alongside you. Our thoughts are with you Lassiter High School."

A makeshift memorial of flowers and balloons began to grow at the crash site as passersby, many of them strangers who never met the boys, paid their respects to two young men who were destined for great things.

While both siblings were members of the NJROTC program, James was a senior and his brother was a freshman.

Milton Athletics Director Gary Sylvestri tweeted support for Lassiter as well, using the hashtag #onecommunity.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, 1st Sgt. Lorenzo Cox, naval science instructor, said that the siblings were "fine young men."

"These two cadets are fine young men who we believe that if had the chance they would have served our community well and we all would have been proud of them," Cox said to TV cameras.

The family has set up a GoFundMe account to help with funeral costs. The account says in part:
On April 24, 2017 Jim (age18) and Joe (age 14) Pratt were victims of a tragic car accident that sadly took their lives. Both were students at Lassiter High School and members of the NJROTC program, and were well respected young men among their teachers and peers. They leave behind their mom, Jamie and sisters Stella and Lilly, as well as a large extended family. Please help support this family to raise funds to assist with expenses related to funeral arrangements.

As of midday Wednesday, the GoFundMe had received $48,870 of a $50,000 goal.

The accident remains under investigation by local authorities, who want to know what happened seconds before the fatal wreck.

The Pratt brothers' deaths were not the only road fatalities involving high school students on Ga. 92 on Monday. That same day about 25 miles south, four Langston Hughes High students were killed when their Lincoln Navigator struck a tractor-trailer, police said. A fifth student in the accident is hospitalized and has bleeding on the brain.

Photo: from left, James and Joe Pratt. Credit: Cobb County School District