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

Zhia Franklin's second-grade friends at Heritage Elementary School have planned a tribute to the 7-year-old who was killed in a Saturday crash that also claimed the lives of her mother and younger brother.

Principal Jennifer Askew said a balloon launch is planned for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Thomaston Road school, just down the street from where Zhia lived.

Using math skills as a teaching tool, the grieving 7- and 8-year-olds calculated how much string would be needed for the 800 balloons that will released with special messages penned in the girl's honor.

Zhia along with her mother, 30-year-old Tina Marie Brown, and 1-year-old brother Marcus "Mo" Oates died when their SUV hydroplaned and flipped upside down into a flooded ditch off Ga. 91 near Colquitt in Miller County. Only the driver, Marcus Oates Sr., survived the crash.

A Zhia Franklin Family Memorial Fund is set up at all Mid South Community Federal Credit Union locations to help with funeral expenses.

MORE VIDEO FROM MACON:

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Fund set up for Macon family killed in crash, Heritage school plans memorial ."