HOUSTON — The 75-year-old woman who was killed in a crash Thursday by two suspected carjackers is being remembered as a kind, talented woman.
Authorities have not released her name but said she was the mother to a Houston Police Department sergeant.
She was killed when two suspected carjackers slammed into her vehicle while she was at a red light. One of them has been charged in her death.
Jerry Burley said he is still in shock. He said he’s known her for about 30 years but was her pastor for 15.
He is saddened by the loss because he says she was more than a parishioner, she was his friend.
"It hits you in the gut something like this," Burley said. "It was devastating. You never expect things like this to happen."
Burley said she was a very kind woman who loved doing skits at the church.
"She had so much talent it was unreal," he said. "Anything she set her mind to do. She did it."
Burley said she would be missed.
"She had a whole lot of people that loved her, and I don’t know when her service is going to be, but wherever it is, I can assure you it's going to be full," he said. "She was just that type of woman."
Two other innocent people were injured in the crash, as well as the two suspected carjackers who had to be pulled out of the vehicle they allegedly stole the day before.
One of the suspects has been identified as Trenton Bevel, 18. He is charged with murder. He hasn't been booked in jail because he remains in the hospital in critical condition.
Douglas Griffith, the Houston Police Officer's Union president, is asking for a tough punishment.
"I hope they go away forever," Griffith said. "They chose to go away for life. Their actions caused the death of an innocent person. They need to be put away."