A loving Virginia grandmother driving to an amusement park with family was killed Sunday when another car’s tire flew off and crashed into her windshield, authorities said.
Tammy Parsons, 53, was pronounced dead on Interstate 64 following the freak accident as she was heading to Busch Gardens’ Howl-O-Scream event with her fiancé, twin daughters and two grandchildren shortly before 12:30 p.m., police and family said.
The tire from a 2017 Jeep Renegade going west came loose and bounced across lanes before smashing into Parsons’ 2005 Ford Explorer, Virginia State Police said, according to the Virginian Pilot.
While Parsons, of Williamsburg, succumbed to her injuries at the scene, her partner and other loved ones were not hurt, the newspaper reported.
Her grieving fiancé told WRIC that when the tire slammed into the car, her second-oldest daughter jumped over her mother to help him direct the car into the guardrail.
“So we would stop and not crash and possibly get killed,” Joseph Palumbo said. “That takes pure strength in my eyes. And you know what? That comes from their mom.”
Parsons leaves behind three daughters, a son, and four grandchildren. One of her grandchildren predeceased her, according to her obituary.
“She was the backbone to her family; her children and grandchildren were her biggest accomplishment and greatest joy in life. Tammy would light up any room that she walked into and would often make people laugh with her sense of humor,” her obit continued.
“Most of Tammy’s friends and family would describe her as a selfless, kind-hearted, and courageous woman with the biggest heart who would always put others before herself.”
“She is by far the best, best woman I’ve ever met in my life,” Palumbo told WTVR.
The pair had been together for 10 years and moved from Pennsylvania to Virginia six months ago, WVEC reported.
Authorities are still investigating the crash, but speed or alcohol did not factor into the fatal incident, according to reports.