A Georgia family is grieving a devastating Thanksgiving-night tragedy after 19-year-old Jaylah Donald—seven months pregnant with a baby boy—was killed when a suspected drunk driver slammed into the car she was riding in as her mother backed out of a driveway in Newton County.
Jaylah had spent the evening surrounded by family. There were plans, laughter, and a celebration that should have carried her into the final months of her pregnancy. Minutes after leaving to drop off a neighbor, everything changed.
Shortly after midnight on Fairview Road in Covington, a BMW traveling down the roadway struck the passenger side of the Hyundai Sonata driven by Jaylah’s mother, Takila Donald.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, the BMW driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Jaylah and her unborn son died at the scene. Takila was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
Investigators say the Sonata backed “improperly” onto the roadway, but the impaired BMW driver’s actions ultimately led to the fatal impact. The Georgia State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is continuing to examine the crash, with charges expected against both drivers.
The heartbreak reverberated through the family the moment they learned the news.
“When I first got up there, I couldn’t breathe,” said Jaylah’s grandmother, Genette Anderson, describing the moment she arrived at the crash site. She said she is trying to remain strong, even as she struggles to comprehend the loss. “I can’t question God… we’re all going to have our number.”
Jaylah, a recent graduate of Maynard Jackson High School, had told relatives she planned to start college after her baby was born. Hours before her death, she shared news of her pregnancy with her father, Jonathan Ponds, who was looking forward to becoming a grandfather.
“It was crazy to find out I was going to be a grandfather, and then a couple hours later, I lose my daughter and my grandson,” he said. “I was actually very ready to embrace the role.”
On Sunday night, more than 50 family members, friends, and neighbors gathered to release purple balloons into the sky—one final gesture of love for a young mother-to-be whose life was cut short.
The crash comes at a time of year when drunk driving deaths routinely spike. Between 2019 and 2023, more than one-third of all fatalities during Thanksgiving travel involved alcohol, according to federal data.
A GoFundMe has been launched to help cover funeral expenses as Jaylah’s family prepares for a week they never imagined facing.
For Anderson, the lesson is painfully clear: “Love your family. That’s all I can say.”
