'He brought so much joy': Mother mourns son killed in crash with friends

SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The mother of one of four teens killed in a crash says each day without her son is a struggle.

Isaiah Gregory, 15, along with Cameron Jones, 16, Octavious Rhodes, 16, and Ke'Ariy Lopez, 14, was killed in a crash on Highway 92 at Butner Road on Monday afternoon.

A fifth passenger, Lexus Todd, is recovering at Grady Memorial Hospital.

The five teens were in a Lincoln Navigator that was involved in a crash with a tractor-trailer.

They were all students at Langston Hughes High School.

Gregory's mother, Elke Velez, spoke to Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes on Wednesday.

She said her son brought joy and hope to her life from the moment he was born.

“He’s not here now. It’s really hard. It’s like my heart has just been ripped out,” the grieving mother said.

Velez said everything has been a blur, and she doesn’t even remember how she found out her son had died.

She said she was sitting in a chair, just waiting for him to come home, but he never did.

“I was waiting for him to come and give me my hug and then it hit me like, wow, he’s not coming. I was waiting to her, ‘Mom, I love you,’” Velez said.

Gregory’s mother said she’s praying for other parents who lost their children and she’s thankful for the support from her community.

“The day of, the street was just packed with cars and people, showing love and support and just a major loss for the community,” she said.

Velez said she knew her son had testing that day, but doesn’t know if he was allowed to leave campus or not.

GoFundMe pages have been set up for some of the victims:

• Octavious Rhodes
• Isaiah Gregory

Cox Media Group