Mom of Jasper County I-95 wreck victim: 'She loved her job and her work'
The early morning phone call Wednesday filled Pearlie Mae Toomer with horror.
Her daughter, Sharon Toomer, had just died in a crash on Interstate 95, she was told.
"The coroner and someone from the sheriff's department called and said what happened," she said. "It was shocking because I was woken from my sleep. It was unbelievable."
Sharon Toomer, 52, died at about 5:30 a.m. at mile marker 15 of southbound I-95 when she lost control of her 2001 Toyota Camry and struck a tree, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol.
The Ridgeland woman ran the cash register in Hardeeville Elementary School's cafeteria and was remembered by her coworkers as both a good person and someone who knew many students by name.
"She loved her job and her work," Pearlie Mae Toomer said Thursday.
"Some ladies from the school came by yesterday to talk with us. ... She was a very nice and sweet person."
Toomer said her daughter has a 17-year-old son who is a student at Ridgeland-Hardeeville High School.
When asked how Toomer's son is coping with her death, Pearlie Mae Toomer said "not good."
She added that Toomer's identical twin sister has been helping her cope with her daughter's death.
"Around me she holds up to keep me from breaking down," Pearlie Mae Toomer said. "She's doing OK."
She said her daughter was active at St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church in Ridgeland.
"She loved her church," she said. "She participated in anything she could."
Follow Caitlin Turner on Twitter at twitter.com/Cait_E_Turner.
Related content:
- Hardeeville Elementary principal remembers employee Sharon Toomer, Feb. 3, 2016
- Ridgeland firefighter speaks about fatal accident on I-95 on Feb. 3, Feb. 4, 2016
This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Mom of Jasper County I-95 wreck victim: 'She loved her job and her work'."