THOMASVILLE — A Thomas County man was killed early Friday morning in a single vehicle accident on Ione Road, north of Pavo.

Austin Farrell Hiers, 25, was traveling west on Ione Road at about 1:20 a.m., when his 1994 Jeep Wrangler struck a driveway embankment on the south shoulder of the road. The vehicle overturned, ejecting both him and his passenger, Vickie Merritt, 23, also of Pavo.

According to a report by the Georgia State Patrol, the vehicle came to rest on top of Hiers, causing his death. Merritt, who survived the accident, was treated and released at Archbold Memorial Hospital.

Hiers, the son of Rhonda Cooper Jackson and Riley Farrell Hiers, was a student at Southwest Georgia Technical College.

His cousin, Addison Walker, was distraught after hearing news of the accident.

“He played pool at granddaddy’s with us. He loved his mama and his daddy, and they loved him. He loved everybody,” Walker said Friday.

“I just don’t know what happened. I found out last night at about 2 o’clock, and I was in shock. I thought he might have hit a deer,” he said. “I just can’t believe it.”

Walker said his big cousin was fun to be around and was always nice to everyone.

“If you would have known him, you would have loved him,” he said.

Hiers’ grandmother, Shirley Cooper, was also devastated by news of her grandson’s death.

“He was very sweet, and he’s going to be missed,” she said through tears.

“He came up here every week to mow the grass for his granddaddy. He had an acre to mow, and he was such a sweet child, doing all this and going to school,” Cooper said. “He always kept everybody laughing. He’s a sweet child, and we love him.”

One of Hiers’ favorite pastimes was fishing, his grandmother said.

“He just put a new picture of himself on the refrigerator last Thursday, holding two big bass,” she said.

Hiers, who was an only child, enjoyed taking his younger relatives along on fishing trips, and fishing with his grandfather, Carroll Cooper.

“He was the best fisherman I’ve ever known,” his grandfather said.

Obituary information is on Page 2A.

Hiers’ death came on the first day of the Memorial Day holiday, although it was too early to count toward Georgia State Patrol statistics for the holiday weekend, which started at 6 p.m. Friday and continues through midnight Monday.

The GSP predicts 2,401 traffic crashes over the weekend, resulting in 18 deaths and 1,012 injuries.

“Last year, Georgia experienced a record number of traffic deaths for the Memorial Day weekend,” said Col. Bill Hitchens, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. “We will have every available trooper and officer on patrol during the heaviest travel periods of the weekend targeting impaired drivers, occupant protection violations and aggressive drivers.”

Hitchens said troopers and state officers will patrol not only the interstates but secondary roads as well.

“Last year, Georgia experienced 32 traffic deaths during the holiday period, and 22 of those deaths occurred on the state highways and county roads,” he said. “Our goal is to intercept dangerous drivers before they can cause a fatal crash.”

Those 32 include one pedestrian, three motorcyclists and 28 people in cars or trucks. Of those in cars or trucks, 16 were not wearing seat belts.