Four youth killed in wreck
By Dwight Otwell
Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters summer counselors die

Four summer counselors at Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters in Andrews were killed early Saturday morning when they were thrown from the vehicle in which they were riding.

The four weren't wearing seatbelts, according to a Cobb County police spokesman. The 2005 Jeep Liberty went out of control and flipped off I-575 near the Bells Ferry Road exit in Cobb County. The vehicle rolled over a number of times, ejecting the four passengers, police said. Two summer counselors, including the driver, had their seatbelts on and survived, although they are in serious but stable condition at Atlanta area hospitals.

Killed were Ashlee W. Kraft, 19, of Savannah, GA; Suzanne E. Cranford, 19, and Daniel Branson, 20, both of High Point, NC; and Michael T. Mabry, 21, of Tuscaloosa, AL.

Survivors are the driver, Cara M. Holland, 19, of Canton, GA and her front seat passenger Ray D. Padgett, 21, of Woodstock, GA.

According to President and CEO of Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters Steve Coleman, about 50 summer counselors had gone to an Atlanta Braves game. The six in the accident were going to spend the night in Woodstock, Coleman said.

Snowbird has about 25 year-round staff and they hire about 80 summer counselors every year. About 3,000 to 4,000 young people camp at the Christian camp every summer.

Coleman said the summer counselors get off work at 2 p.m. Saturday and return to work at 11 a.m. Monday. While they live on campus, many go home or take other trips during their time off.

Coleman said it is believed that the accident was caused because of a steering problem with the vehicle. The police said they were not speeding and there was no reason for the vehicle to go off the road. Police also said that alcohol use was not suspected in the incident.

"When they went off the road, they pulled back and the car flipped sideways and turned over a number of times going down a hill," Coleman said.

The accident is still under investigation.

"The only thing getting us through this is knowing where they are," Coleman said of the four dead youth. "They were here serving the Lord. Each of those who died had led people to Christ."

Another 300 campers are at Snowbird this week. Many of the staff personnel will attend funerals of the four this week, Coleman said. Many people have volunteered to come in and help the camp get through this week, he said. Coleman asked people to pray for the parents, family and staff members during this time of grieving.

The two survivors are at North Fulton Medical Center and Atlanta Medical Center. Both are in the ICU units.

Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters, a non-profit organization, has hired approximately 800 college students as summer counselors in its 10 years of existence, Coleman said.