Duluth High School Mourns Assistant Coach and Teacher Sylvia Akers After Fatal Crash
SYLVIA AKERS, The Duluth High School community and the greater Georgia region are mourning the loss of Sylvia Akers, a longtime assistant girls basketball coach and dedicated special education teacher who died following a tragic car accident on Interstate 985. Her passing has created a deep sense of loss among students, colleagues, athletes, and families whose lives she impacted during more than 16 years of service.
Akers spent her career at Duluth High School, where she was known not only as an educator and coach but also as a mentor, advocate, and consistent source of encouragement. She played a vital role in supporting students in the classroom, particularly those in special education, and was widely recognized for her patience, compassion, and commitment to helping students believe in themselves and succeed.
The fatal crash occurred at approximately 8 p.m. on January 21 as Akers was returning home from a Wildcats home basketball game against Brookwood. According to the Georgia State Patrol, her white Ford F-150 left the northbound lanes of Interstate 985 near Sprout Spring for reasons that remain under investigation, traveled off the east shoulder, and overturned multiple times. Akers was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville with critical injuries and later died.
Friends and colleagues noted that Akers had recently completed retirement paperwork and was preparing to begin a new chapter of her life after years of dedicated service. Her sudden death has added to the heartbreak felt throughout the community, as many reflected on the future she was preparing to enjoy.
Duluth head girls basketball coach Shyla Dunford described Akers as the heart of the program, a mentor, and a guiding presence whose care and leadership left a lasting impression on everyone she encountered. Tributes have continued to pour in, honoring not only her professional contributions but the compassion and dedication she showed throughout her life.
