Family of Ga. nursing student among 5 killed in crash opens tutoring boutique in her honor

KENNESAW, Ga. — A new business in Cobb County is honoring the life of one of five Georgia Southern University nursing students killed in a crash in April 2015.

Emily Clark was a junior from Powder Springs and four of her classmates were killed. Two other students survived the crash.

Police say a tractor-trailer rig failed to stop as traffic in front of it slowed on the interstate at about 5:45 a.m. The truck smashed into a line of cars. In total seven vehicles, including two tractor-trailers and five passenger cars, were involved in the crash.

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“She just loved people. She loved helping people,” Kathy Clark, mother of Emily Clark, told Channel 2 Action News after the crash more than eight years ago. “She was just so determined to do well and she just got an excitement in her eye when she thought she was helping somebody, or doing something good for somebody.”

Now, the Clark family is remembering the life of Emily Clark with a new business.

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The Brain Station is a boutique and tutoring facility that also features a coffee shop located in Kennesaw.

“Emily loved life itself and she was always willing to help others through encouragement and joy. Her smile would light up a room and her dream was to have a boutique. So we thought we would bring Emily’s Dream to light here in The Brain Station,” the business’ website says.

On the website, parents can sign their students up for tutoring sessions in specific areas.

In 2016, the truck driver and trucking company involved in the crash were indicted on vehicular homicide charges.

The driver, John Wayne Johnson, pleaded guilty to nine criminal charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Total Transportation of Mississippi, his employer, agreed to pay $78 million to settle civil lawsuits after the crash.

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Families of victims in crash that killed nursing students speak out Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant reports

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