Reco Jermaine English, 18, was one of two people killed in a three-vehicle traffic crash apparently caused by a drunk driver near the Alabama-Georgia state line on Saturday morning.

English was a passenger in a 2020 Nissan Altima driven by 31-year-old Ashley Jackson of Birmingham, that was struck when the alleged drunk driver crossed the center line of Halls Valley Road, struck an 18-wheeler that then crossed the line and hit the Altima. Jackson was also killed in the crash that happened around 7:50 a.m., Alabama time.

Reports from the Coosa Valley News said that the Georgia State Patrol charged 38-year-old Jamie Smith of Birmingham with DUI, two counts of homicide by vehicle, driving on a suspended license, reckless driving, a distracted hand-free law violation, driving on the wrong side of the roadway and failure to maintain lane.

News reports said both Smith and the unidentified truck driver were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

New Pinson Valley head football coach James Thompson called English “a 100 percent kid.”

“He was truly a worker,” Thompson said. “He was an every-day attendance guy, he was just a quiet leader by example.”

Thompson suspended football training for Monday and Tuesday and county grief counselors as well as pastors from the community and the team chaplain met with the squad on Monday.

“I just told the guys that an accident like this is tragic and it wasn’t a case where he was doing anything wrong,” Thompson said. “We have to honor him in everything we do and keep his family in our thoughts and lean on each other at this moment. We have to take it day-by-day.”

Pinson Valley principal Michael Turner recalled a special relationship he had with English.

“I absolutely loved Reco,” he said. “He was from Cincinnati and when he enrolled here, I’m a big Skyline Chili guy, I kidded with him that he next time he went back to Cincinnati that I’d give him some money to bring me back some of that chili. Sure, enough, he did it.

“He had a dynamic personality and his smile was infectious. He went to Parker (High School) for a brief time and when he transferred back, I didn’t say a word, I just hugged his neck and told him I wanted him to be a leader for us. He said, ‘I gotcha, Mr. T,’” Turner said.

“I can’t say enough good things about him. Every single time I’d see him, I’d make a point to speak or he’d make a point to speak to me. He was very well-liked by his teammates and very much liked by his peers, not to mention his teachers, who also loved him.”

Gentrell Eatman, who coached the Indians last season and is now the special teams coordinator at Minor High, recalled the last time he spoke with English – who he said was called “Fudge” by his friends – on the football field.

“He was a great kid,” Eatman said. “It hit me because when we walked off the field at Muscle Shoals last year (after a loss in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs), he came up and talked to me. He told me that he was willing to do whatever he needed to do to make this team move forward the next year. He was willing to do whatever.”

English, who had played defensive line for the Indians, was projected to switch to running back, Eatman said. “I think everybody had talked to him about if he was going to play at the next level, he would need to change positions. At this point, he had been a defensive lineman and he was going to get his weight down to become a running back.”

The Pinson Valley community had to deal with the death of standout basketball player Caleb White, who died of natural causes stemming from a heart condition on Aug. 10, 2023, while playing basketball at the school.