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Teen dies in car surfing accident
Services set for Friday in Marietta
A-Teenage Fatality Hawkins mug
Hawkins

A Dawson County teen and star athlete died Monday night after she fell from the hood of a moving vehicle.

Authorities said Anna Gabrielle Hawkins, 16, was car surfing, a dangerous practice often depicted in movies and on TV that involves standing on the hood of a moving vehicle, when the driver of Suzuki Grand Vitara lost control in a curve on Couch Road.

A spokeswoman with the Georgia State Patrol Post in Cumming said the 16-year-old driver, whose name has not been released but is reportedly from Cumming, was traveling at an excessive rate of speed when the crash occurred about 9:45 p.m.

"The driver was traveling at a high rate of speed and lost control," said Robin Stone with GSP.

Officers said alcohol or drugs are not considered factors in the wreck.

The state patrol's Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team was called to the scene and will determine any charges that may be brought against the driver, according to Stone.

The team will then turn its findings over to the district attorney's office if prosecution is warranted.

Dawson County School Superintendent Keith Porter called the accident "tragic."

"This is our worst nightmare, losing one of our kids," he said.

A rising junior at Dawson County High School, Hawkins played on the girls' varsity soccer team her freshman and sophomore years.

Dawson County Emergency Services Chief and Assistant Coroner Lanier Swafford said she died en route to Northside Hospital-Forsyth.

A celebration of life service is planned for 6 p.m. June 13 at Lighthouse Baptist Church, 329 Harmony Church Road, Dawsonville.

A graveside service will be held at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Mountain View Cemetery in Marietta. The family will receive friends priot to the service from 10 a.m.-noon at Mayes Ward-Dobbins Funeral Home and Crematory in Marietta.

The local soccer community has arranged a fundraiser to help the family with funeral expenses. Tax deductible checks made out to Helping Hands Ministries can be dropped off at Dawson Insurance, located at 6104A Hwy. 53 E, Dawsonville, through Thursday afternoon.

Survivors include her parents James and Nancy Hawkins, sister Kati Hawkins, all of Dawsonville, and grandparents Lamar and Brenda Hawkins of Marietta.

The wreck marked the county's fourth traffic fatality of 2013 and the fifth death on Dawson County roads.