Neighbors, friends mourn death of young Mobile mother and infant son
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MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) — The sudden deaths of a Mobile woman and her infant son in a four-vehicle pileup has left their neighbors stunned.
Mobile police said Thursday that a sedan driven by 28-year-old Deidreana Jasper got sandwiched between a UPS truck and a pickup truck. The crash killed her and her 1-year-old son, Noah Brown.
“She’s so sweet. Really sweet,” said Tameka Mullins, choking back tears on Thursday.
Mullins said Jasper was not just her neighbor at Isle Parkway Apartments. She said Jasper was her sister’s best friend. She said Jasper was like a second mother to her children before Noah was born.
Mullins recalled one Christmas when she was struggling, her kids ended up having a fantastic holiday thanks to Jasper’s generosity.
“I watched it last night, but I had no idea that it was her,” she told FOX10 News. “And my family called me this morning but I didn’t know; I had my phone down. So my mom came, and she told me – woke me up out of my sleep and told me.”
Mullins told FOX10 News that Jasper had left home about 20 minutes before the crash but added she does not know where she was going.
According to Mobile police, Jasper was driving her Pontiac sedan west on Moffett Road when the driver of an east-bound UPS truck pulling a trailer lost control of his vehicle and crossed over the center line. The truck hit Jasper’s sedan head-on. A Ford F-250 pickup truck then hit the sedan from behind.
The impact sent the Pontiac into the path of a Hyundai Sonata that was in the right westbound lane, police said.
Neighbors described Jasper as a kind-hearted, church-going woman who kept to herself as she raised her son. Noah was coming up on his second birthday.
“She used to come and get my baby to come over and play with her baby,” Mullins said. “So. It’s crazy. Gone way too soon.”
Another neighbor, Brittany Brown, said Jasper had just started doing makeup professionally. She said Noah was sweet-natured.
“I’m gonna miss that little boy running out, and her trying to catch him,” she said.
Mobile police said weather appears to have bene a factor on Wednesday’s accident, but investigators have reached no definitive conclusions.
Atlanta-based UPS is one of the nation’s largest transportation companies, with 118,489 drivers. According to data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, UPS drivers have been involved in 57 fatal traffic accidents over a 24-month period ending March 26. Those wrecks caused a total of 958 injuries. During that time, UPS drivers had been cited for 6,820 traffic violations.
UPS sent a statement to FOX10 News expressing condolences: “We were deeply saddened to hear about this incident and extend our sympathies to those involved. We are cooperating with the responding authorities in their investigation, and because this is an active investigation we’ll defer to them for any further comment.”
Neighbor Gecor Bettis said it breaks her heart to know Jasper’s life has been cut so short and that her little boy will never live his life.
“To wake up to someone dying so soon – it’s sad,” she said. “She couldn’t live her life to the fullest. Her son just passed. It’s a lot going on, coronavirus, and it’s just sad that she’s gone.”
Neighbor Jana Blakley said Jasper kept to herself.
“It’s mind-blowing. You know, they say nobody’s closer to God during these times,” she said. “’Cause it’s crazy how you can speak to somebody, and then the next day, you see them on the post saying they’re gone.”
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