Georgia College and State University is remembering one of its professors after she and her daughter were killed in a car crash just two days before Thanksgiving. Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Sara Doude says the campus will never be the same after the death of her colleague, Jennifer Hammack.
"It's a lot of disbelief because I just talked to her on Monday," said Doude.
On Tuesday evening, just after 5 p.m., Hammack died in a car crash on Highway 49 alongside her 15-year-old daughter, Erica Luca. Investigator Chris Shirley says 38-year-old Howard Massengale drove a pickup truck, crossed the center line, and hit Hammack's car head-on, killing her and her daughter at the Jones-Baldwin County line.
"She went to classes with Jennifer. She took some of the same tests that college students took. Ellie (Erica) was incredibly smart, a lot like her mother," said Doude.
Hammack was an Associate Professor of Justice Studies and worked at the college for about 17 years. Her colleagues say she spent a lot of her time in the arts and sciences building. Doude says Hammack was her office neighbor for 12 years.
"Her relationships with her students is incredible," said Doude.
Kendall Mabry, a former student, posted to Facebook saying, "Professor Hammack was more than a teacher. She was one of the main reasons I pursued law school."
Doude says students told her Hammack changed their lives forever.
"They knew her as a person and there's not a lot of college professors you can say that about," said Doude.
The college is on Thanksgiving break. Doude says the college plans to hold a ceremony in Hammack's honor when the students return. Investigators say they are still gathering information before they look into filing any charges.