‘We love you Mia:’ Bainbridge baseball team rallies around player’s sister injured in Prom night accident

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. (WCTV) - The Bainbridge High School baseball team is playing with a purpose. In the middle of a great season, the Bearcat family found itself in the middle of tragedy.

The 16-year-old sister of a senior pitcher on the team, who is a sophomore at BHS herself and a friend of the team, suffered life-changing injuries in a car accident on prom night, March 21.

Now, the team- and the community- is rallying around her family.

Amelia Mccullough is no stranger to the Bearcats ballpark, often seen in the crowd cheering on her brother, Jackson. But now she’s at an Atlanta hospital, still at the beginning of a long recovery.

Hannah Birdsong is a longtime family friend. She considers herself an aunt to Mia.

“You hear of things happening like this, but you don’t think of them happening to someone near and dear to your heart,” she said.

Amelia was rushed to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and underwent a lengthy surgery. She suffered a broken back and is currently paralyzed from the waist down.

Kacee Franklin is Mia’s aunt.

“It’s your worst nightmare,” she said.

Franklin started a GoFundMe page for the long road ahead. So far, supporters have chipped in nearly $15,000. Franklin says it’s a sign of a small town showing its love.

“When something happens- good, bad, sad- whatever it is, we just come together like glue,” she said.

Baseball has been a part of the Mccullough’s life for years, so it’s no surprise the diamond has been a place of comfort during this dark time.

“Everybody jumped to help, and this baseball team was one of them,” Birdsong said. “They didn’t want to play without Mia.”

So they didn’t. Players wore “Mia” armbands, and a poster soon appeared on the outfield fence bearing Mia’s name.

“If she couldn’t be in the stands, she was going to be on that team, she was going to be on that field,” Birdsong said.

The family is now hopeful for brighter days ahead.

“Don’t give up on her, because she’s not giving up on us, and that’s what’s keeping us going everyday.”

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