ADEL, Ga. (WALB) — Five years after losing her 18-year-old son in a truck accident, mother Tessie Hires is still sharing his story—and his message.

Timothy Isaiah Hall, an Adel native and TikTok influencer with more than 200,000 followers, died July 31, 2021, in Jennings, Florida, after the truck he was driving flipped during a stunt. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

“I tell everybody, seatbelts are so important. And whether you’re on a golf cart or a four-wheeler, you know, doing a stunt, something could happen so quick, you know. Accidents happen. And seatbelts are so important,” Hires said.

The day of the accident

Hall—known to family and fans as Timbo—had graduated from Jennings First Christian School in Hamilton County, Florida, in May 2021. He was spending that Saturday with his fiancée and close friends in Jennings, doing a donut in his truck, when the vehicle hit a hole, flipped and landed on its side. Hall was reportedly ejected through the driver’s side window.

His mother, Tessie Hires, of Adel, was nearby when it happened.

“I was nearby, and I seen my boy under his truck. And I’ll never forget that day. My heart’s forever broken. It’s forever broken,” Hires said.

A life cut short

Hall was born in Tifton on July 17, 2003, and spent most of his life in Hamilton County, Florida. He was planning to enroll in welding school the Monday after he died. His truck—a high school graduation gift from his mother—was one he had named and featured in videos online.

Beyond his social media presence, Hall was known for fishing with his father, telling jokes and, according to his mother, always trying to make people around him smile.

“He was trying to make everybody smile... And my boy, he didn’t make it,” Hires said.

Hall’s death reflects a persistent national safety crisis. Of the 22,713 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2024, 9,758—43 percent—were unrestrained at the time of the crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. When looking only at cases where restraint use was confirmed, 48 percent of passenger vehicle fatalities involved people not wearing a seatbelt.

Despite those numbers, overall traffic deaths have trended downward. NHTSA reported an estimated 36,640 traffic fatalities in 2025—a 6.7 percent decrease from 2024 and the second-lowest traffic fatality rate in recorded history, at 1.10 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.

“American roads are safer,” NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said in an April 2026 statement. “NHTSA is doing our part by doubling down on safety strategies that reduce risky driving behaviors before they cost lives.”

Decades of progress—and persistent gaps

Seatbelts are among the oldest forms of vehicle occupant protection. Volvo patented the first rudimentary seatbelt in 1889. It was not until 1968 that the federal government required seatbelts to be installed in all new passenger cars.

Since then, usage rates have climbed steadily. In 1994, the national observed seatbelt use rate was 58 percent, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). By 2025, that figure had risen to 91.3 percent—just below the record high of 91.9 percent recorded in 2023.

Still, the GHSA notes that too many drivers and passengers are choosing not to buckle up. State highway safety offices across the country fund increased enforcement efforts and work with law enforcement agencies to educate the public about seatbelt use.

Five years later, Hires said the grief has not faded. She keeps handwritten poems Timothy wrote her as a child—signed “from Isaiah, to Mommy”—and stays busy volunteering and sharing his story.

Hall’s family said he always signed off the same way—with two words his mother is now passing along in his memory: Peace out.

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