Matthew Terrell Collins Sr. and his son, Matthew Terrell Collins Jr., were simply trying to spend quality time together while playing golf, and it would unfortunately end in tragedy.
The duo were playing at Bull Creek Golf Course in Midland when a “violent” storm caused them to seek shelter under a tree.
While it seemed like a good idea at the time, it would ultimately end in both of them passing away.
According to authorities, the pair hunkered down in their golf cart when the tree suddenly crashed down on them.
Both suffered blunt-force trauma. The force was so bad that Matthew Terrell Collins Sr. and Jr. were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to officials with the Columbus Police Department, Matthew Collins Jr. was a former Columbus Police officer.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was among those to pay tribute to the duo, calling their deaths “tragic.”
“Marty, the girls, and I are saddened by the tragic deaths of two Georgians in Muscogee County today as a result of the severe weather,” Kemp wrote on X.
GoFundMe Has Raised Thousands For Family of Matthew Terrell Collins Sr. and Jr.
A father and son have died after a tree fell on them during a storm in Georgia.
Matthew Terrell Collins Sr. and Jr. were at the Bull Creek Golf Course in Midland on Sunday evening when tragedy struck.
The pair were in their golf cart when severe weather swept through, and they attempted to seek shelter under a tree.
Unfortunately, a tree fell on them, and the two men died of blunt-force trauma.
A GoFundMe has been started in an attempt to raise $20,000 for funeral expenses for both men.
“They were spending time together when the storm struck—sharing a moment between father and son that would unknowingly become their last,” the online fundraiser read.
As of this writing, the fundraiser was just over $19,000 as it inches closer to its goals.
