Bay St. Louis native, daughter of Gulf Coast band director dies in Georgia crash
A fund has been set up to help pay for the funeral expenses of Hadyn O’Cain Griffin, 24, a former Bay St. Louis resident who died in a car crash in Georgia last week.
She previously lived in Bay St. Louis and was the daughter of the former band director at St. Stanislaus High School.
Visitation will be Friday, Dec. 20, from 6-9 p.m. at Pine Rest Funeral Home in Foley, Alabama. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church in Foley.
A GoFundMe account was established to pay for the funeral and other expenses.
Newnan Times-Herald reported the accident happened Thursday night on west Highway 16 when the driver of a Toyota Scion lost control in the passing lane while attempting to overtake another car and drove into oncoming traffic. Police said she struck a tractor-trailer head-on and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hadyn O’Cain Griffin was 24 and from the Villa Rica area, about 30 miles west of Atlanta. She was wearing a seat belt and not drugs or alcohol are suspected, police said.
According to Griffin’s Facebook page, she formerly was from Bay St. Louis, studied pre-med at University of West Alabama, and was a dental assistant.
The Hancock County community used social media to express sorrow for the loss of Griffin and sympathy for her family.
Her father, Jimmy O’Cain, was band director at St. Stanislaus for three years and started a winterguard and winter drumline. He has been an assistant band director at Foley High School in Alabama for 15 years, and also judges competitions across the region, according to Foley marching band’s website.
Amy Mallet Scruggs, chaperone coordinator for the Foley band, posted that Griffin’s parents, Jimmy and Aimee O’Cain, and their children, have asked for privacy to deal with the tragedy.
The University of West Alabama Band Facebook page expressed sadness over the loss of Griffin, who was drum major while attending the college.
“She was one of the most wonderful people to be around and had such a great life ahead of her,” the post said.
This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 11:22 AM.
