Gadsden mother and 1-year-old child killed in crash; Relatives say mother cared for eight children

GADSDEN, Ala. (WBRC) – A tragic accident took the lives of a Gadsden mother of five and her one-year-old, leaving their family and friends devastated.

ALEA says the crash happened Tuesday morning on US 411 near Pine Cone Road, about a mile south of Leesburg in Cherokee County. Investigators say Odell’s Nissan left the road and struck a tree.

Odell’s godmother Nancy Colvin says Odell was on her way to work and dropping off the children at daycare when she ended up in a floatplane. Investigators say Odell and her one-year-old son died at the scene. We’re told her three-year-old niece survived the crash.

Colvin says Odell and her husband have five children of their own and are raising three more.

She has created a GoFundMe page to help the family. Colvin says everyone is still in shock about what happened.

“They’re going on a long, long journey. Please pray for all those children and her husband and her mother. They’ll need it. They need all the support they can get right now,” Colvin said.

Odell’s work family, Collinsville Healthcare and Rehab, posted about the loss on Facebook, saying, “Her kindness, laughter and unwavering love touched the lives of so many people.”

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