Macon mom, two children die in crash on flooded Miller County Road

Three members of a Macon family were killed after their SUV hydroplaned on a patch of wet road Saturday night, overturning into a rain-soaked ditch in south Georgia.

Tina Marie Butler, 30, and her two children, 7-year-old Zhia Franklin and 1-year-old Marcus "Mo" Oates Jr., were strapped in, then trapped upside down in several feet of water off Ga. 91 near Colquitt in Miller County.

Butler and the toddler drowned at the scene, but rescuers revived Zhia, who was airlifted to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital after the 7:20 p.m. crash.

Her classmates at Heritage Elementary School made get-well cards Monday, just hours before the straight-A student died at the hospital.

Update: Fund set up for Macon family killed in crash, Heritage school plans memorial 

On Tuesday, Principal Jennifer Askew called in support staff from the Bibb County school district to break the news to the youngsters.

"It was a very tough day," Askew said. "I'm supposed to be the strong one, and I was crying just as hard as the kids."

When the students were asked to describe the bright little girl, they chose words like "kind, friendly, funny, smart, good friend," Askew said.

"She was just truly a uniquely kind little girl," she said.

The family lived just up the street from the school, and Askew knew them well.

"You couldn't design a better mother," Askew said.

Mo's father, 39-year-old Marcus Leon Oates, was behind the wheel of the 2003 Lincoln Navigator as they approached the "water over roadway" signs on the rural highway.

He also was trapped but was not injured, according to a preliminary report from the Georgia State Patrol.

"He needs a lot of prayers right now," Askew said.

The family had just gotten on the road, headed back home, after the children spent a few days in Colquitt during spring break with their grandmother, Butler's mother, Melanese Stevenson.

"They had just left my house when the truck hit the water," Stevenson said Wednesday afternoon.

Oates and Butler had been together about five years, and he had just bought her an engagement ring, she said.

Butler was very easy to get along with and never got involved in conflicts, her mother said.

"Tina was a perfect child. We're going to miss her," Stevenson said.

Her grandchildren were "always full of surprises. They were always happy," she said.

Zhia's school had already planned to put together a fund raiser to help them deal with medical expenses before she died.

A Zhia Franklin Family Memorial Fund is being organized through Mid South Community Federal Credit Union, Askew said in an email Thursday. Donations will be accepted at any branch.

Stevenson is planning a funeral for the family at the Old Miller County High School in Colquitt on April 16 at 1 p.m.

She takes comfort in the support she's gotten from family, friends and the Macon community.

Stevenson was holding on to hope that Zhia could pull through, but she never regained consciousness.

Although she is heart-broken, she realizes the children belong with their mother.

"I look at it on the bright side. (Butler) always said, 'Me and my children will always be together,' and as hard as I fought, she won."

To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 and follow her on Twitter@liz_lines.

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This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Macon mom, two children die in crash on flooded Miller County Road ."