It has been nearly two weeks since Parker Madliak, 14, lost his life in a tragic accident on Welcome Sargent Road while he was walking home.

The investigation of the accident is still ongoing, and Aaron Madliak, Parker's older brother, said investigators, especially with the Coweta County Sheriff's Office and Georgia State Patrol, have been helpful to his family during this time. Aaron said his family has been managing as best as possible since the accident, but that his mother is having the hardest time.

Aaron said it was just he, his mother and Parker while growing up. The three have lived in Coweta County his whole life, and Aaron, who is five years older than Parker, recently moved to live with his fiancee, he said. Aaron said Parker, while growing up, would walk to and from his friends' homes often, but it was not like he was walking five miles down the road. All Parker's friends lived about a mile apart.

"He was your typical 14-year-old," Aaron said. "He skated a lot, and hung out with a lot of girls. He was pretty cool, and he was known for his southern hospitality. It's hard to sum it all up."


Parker loved listening to music and making beats, his brother said, and while Parker didn't play any instruments himself, Aaron thought Parker would have wanted to do something with music for a career.

"He was always happy," said Shelby Banks, who considered Parker her best friend. "Nothing ever made him sad or angry, and he could make anyone else around him happy."

Banks said she met Parker a few years ago through her step-brother, who went to the same school Parker did. The two became best friends, and Parker would visit her home often because he loved riding around on four-wheelers. Last summer, Banks said she and Parker actually broke a sprayer attached to her dad's four-wheeler by just "acting crazy on it." She said it cost about $300 to fix.

When he wasn't on a four-wheeler, according to Banks, Parker was always visiting a friend's house or going to Ashley Park – Parker liked going places, she said. Parker would also skate a lot, she said.

Banks also thought Parker would have wanted to do something with music, but he could have also done something with art.

"I know it gets better with time," Banks said, "but I know he's in a better place now."

The accident is still being investigated by members of the Georgia State Patrol's Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team, who are working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said Sgt. First Class Mike Adcock with the GSP. The investigation may continue for another week or two, Adcock said, after which investigators will meet with the Coweta County District Attorney's Office to determine whether the 17-year-old who hit Madliak, Cody Landry, will face charges.

Landry turned himself in at the Coweta County Sheriff's Office a day after the accident and admitted to hitting Madliak, but he told authorities he only believed he'd struck a deer. Investigators were able to match Landry's truck, a Ford F-150, to the accident using shards of a broken headlight. Landry has not been charged at this time.