A 25-year-old woman who grew up in Thomson and had gotten married in June, was killed in a single-car crash near the tiny community of Ila, Ga., in Madison County, on Wednesday afternoon, according to authorities.
Mary Claire Neal Smith was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident that occurred shortly before 4 p.m. on Georgia Highway 98 - the highway that runs between Commerce and Comer, Cadet Cal Barton of the Georgia State Patrol Post in Athens.
The wreck happened three miles west of Ila when Mrs. Smith's VW Beetle convertible ran off the right shoulder of the roadway, hit a ditch and then struck a culvert before overturning, Cadet Barton said.
Mrs. Smith was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Jefferson Neal, Jr., of Thomson and the granddaughter of the late Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Jefferson Neal, Sr., and the late Mr. and Mrs. Farriel Williamson of Louisville, Ga.
She is survived by her parents; her husband, Rodney Shane Smith; her children, Maggie Smith, Austin Smith, and Colt Smith of Commerce, Ga.; one sister, Sara Neal Lokey (Cameron), of Augusta. Her aunts and uncles include Nan and Billy Tam and Carrie and Linton Neal of Thomson
A 2001 honor graduate of Thomson High School, Mrs. Smith was a life-long resident of Thomson and a member of the First United Methodist Church of Thomson. She graduated in December of 2007 from the University of Georgia with a degree in Sociology. She was employed by Baker and Taylor, Inc. in Commerce.
Visitation will be at the Neal Home, 308 West Hall Street, in Thomson on Friday, July 25, 2008, from 6 to 8 p.m. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 26, in Westview Cemetery with Rev. Tom A. Kerr and Rev. David G. Bowen officiating.
