THOMASVILLE — A fatal accident occurred Tuesday afternoon at approximately 4:15 p.m. after a driver failed to yield on GA 38.

According to the accident report, Kaitlyn Wills was traveling west on GA 38 in her Toyota Corolla, while Carl Mayhall was traveling south on Gatlin Creek Road.

Mayhall attempted to cross over the westbound lanes of GA 38, but failed to yield to Wills, after stopping at the stop sign, causing Wills to strike Mayhall’s Honda Accord on the driver’s side.

Upon impact, Wills came to an uncontrolled final rest in the median of GA 38 facing west.

However, Mayhall’s vehicle traveled across the median and into the eastbound lanes, before striking the guard rail and coming to a rest against the north guard rail.

Georgia State Patrol, along with Thomas County Emergency Services, Thomas County Fire Rescue and Thomas County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident, where Emergency Services used the jaws of life to extricate Mayhall from the vehicle. EMS then transported both Wills and Mayhall to Archbold Medical Center, where Mayhall was later pronounced dead.

Upon hearing the news, one of Mayhall’s former students immediately took to Facebook to share the lifelong impact Mayhall had on her life.

“I learned last night that my favorite teacher of all time, Michial (Carl) Mayhall, passed away in a tragic car accident just a mile or 2 away from my childhood home,” Krissy Finch posted. “Mr. Mayhall was my band director for 4 years (more if you count his help with our middle school band), but more than that, he was a father figure to me and so many others and one of the biggest personal cheerleaders I’ve ever had in my corner.”

Finch went on to describe Mayhall’s uplifting, encouraging and unconditionally loving personality.

“He understood teens and their emotions and knew how to push us just enough to be great, but not too much so as to make us frustrated,” she penned.

This caring demeanor earned Mayhall the title of Teacher of the Year in 1999.

Finch recounted how Mayhall helped her learn to stand on her own two feet by selecting her for a Debussy flute solo her senior year, working with her for hours and making notes to help her improve. “He knew I needed a moment to shine that year, on my own, to stand on my own 2 feet in front of a crowd and show the world I was capable of doing difficult things,” she recounted.

Finch said it’s been 22 years since Mayhall was her teacher, but even 22 years later she could still feel his impact.

“How many people did he impact during his career?,” she questioned. “More than we could ever count, I’m sure.”

Mayhall was 70 at the time of his passing, but his legacy will live on forever in the hearts of all his students and former educators.