COBB COUNTY, Ga. — What was supposed to be a day of fun at Six Flags over Georgia ended in a tragic accident, with the death of 2-year-old Ashton Cooksey.
The Atlanta boy, his three siblings - ages 10, 6 and 3 - and a 51-year-old relative were all at the park Saturday, March 6.
At 4:18 p.m. that day, Cobb County Police officers were called to the park. Investigators said that when the group was leaving in their 2019 Chrysler Pacifica, the driver thought all four kids were inside the vehicle.
The driver started leaving the parking space and hit Ashton.
Soon after, Carlos Cooksey, Ashton's father, got a call.
"When you hear news like that, you can't really speak," he said.
On the other end of the phone line, family members were telling Cooksey to hurry to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta – Scottish Rite Hospital, where Ashton was taken.
"As I was driving, I had another phone call, and it was one of the paramedics, and they were letting me know that he didn't have a pulse," he recalled. "So, at that point I kind of already knew. I was just preparing myself for the confirmation."
Cooksey was an hour away at a video shoot in Griffin when he received the phone calls. He immediately headed to the hospital where his wife and kids were waiting for him.
"It just felt like it took forever to get there," he said. "[My other kids] were there when the accident happened, so we're still trying to get them to open up about it."
"They don't understand those feelings just yet, they just know that something's not right," he added.
He wouldn't go into details as to who the relative is, but he did say that while he is hurting, he is not upset with the woman.
Right now, he is focusing on healing next to his family.
"It can happen to anyone," he said. "I'm not upset at anyone. I understand there's a police report, and everything like that, but I personally did not want to know exactly what happened."
But Cooksey said there's a silver lining to all of this. Ashton used to bring people together, and continues to do so today.
"Anybody you met that knew him, they had a different story. How much joy he brought to them, how close he brought people. He was always happy," he described. "I have friends I haven't spoken to, we've recently reconnected because of this. Even though it's a tragic accident and nobody wants this to be the reason, he's still bringing people together."
Ashton is survived by his parents Carlos and Jasmine, four brothers and one sister. Come May, he was going to be an older brother, as the family is expecting another baby boy.
They've set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.
"He's at peace, so that's all that really matters to me," Cooksey said.
