Dalton State assistant coach injured, bride-to-be killed in car crash

Brittany Huber met John Redman three years ago, back when he coached her little brother's basketball team. She attended all the games, those close to her family say. Then they became friends on Facebook. Then they became a couple.

Redman told her he dreamed of becoming a college basketball coach. In July, he moved to Georgia to join the Dalton State Roadrunners' staff. Three months later, Huber followed him, becoming a kindergarten teacher's aide at City Park Elementary.

On Monday, the two were driving through Meriwether County, Ga., around 7:15 p.m. when Redman lost control of his car, Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright said. Redman steered left, yanking his Lexus IS 250 into the highway's median.

The car pushed forward until its passenger side smashed against a concrete bridge support. Paramedics found Redman, 23, unconscious, Dalton State Athletic Director Derek Waugh said. Huber, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The two were driving to Mobile, Ala., Huber's hometown. On Saturday, they were to be married.

Wright said investigators are working to re-create what happened. The road was wet, and the Georgia troopers on scene reported that Redman was driving too fast for conditions.

Waugh said Redman remained in the intensive care unit of Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital on Tuesday. Some of his ribs are broken. His skull is cracked. He is sedated and is using a breathing tube, though he has shown the ability to inhale and exhale on his own. He can also move his arms and legs.

Waugh described Redman as passionate, positive and hard working. He is funny, too. As a student at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Redman served on the team's basketball staff. He then met Dalton State coach Tony Ingle, who offered him a job.

photo Brittany Huber and John Redman

"It is a tragedy," said Waugh, who remained at the hospital Tuesday with Redman's parents and two brothers. "There is no other word for it."

Cindy Taylor, a family friend, said Huber studied finance at the University of South Alabama. But she decided that wasn't for her, that it didn't have the magic she needed. So she switched her major and studied art.

Huber liked paintings, poetry and photography. She worked at an art camp in Mobile last summer and planned to do the same thing this year. She painted crosses, crowns, flowers.

"It was a natural talent to Brittany," Taylor said. "It was the kind of person she was. She was so happy. Her paintings were all happy."

Huber became deaf as a child, but she didn't learn sign language. Her father didn't want her to, Taylor said. He wanted her to function the same as children who could hear, so instead she read lips.

Most people who met her didn't know she couldn't hear, Taylor said. That included her students. She was good with kids.

"Everyone loved her," Taylor said. "She was so happy. There's just not many people around like Brittany. Her hearing made her that way."

According to their wedding website, Huber and Redman got engaged in June. On Saturday, Huber posted a picture of the two of them on Instagram.

They faced each other, a railroad track dividing the two. On one side, in baggy sweatpants and a hoodie, Redman stretched out his left arm, a basketball in his hand. On the other side, Huber held both hands open in front of her chest, ready for the ball, her eyes locked on his.

"The basketball symbolizes him asking me if I am willing to help him achieve his dream," she wrote. "I can't wait to ride on his journey with him and see what our amazing God has in store for us."

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or at tjett@timesfreepress.com.

Upcoming Events