Worthington mother reflects on losing mom in crash
Brittney Harris, 38, of Worthington was in disbelief when she received a phone call at work that her two sons and her mother had been in a serious car accident. But she could tell by the voice of her 14-year-old son, Darius, that something was wrong.
Brittney’s mother, Debra Harris, 66, was killed and Darius and her younger son, 6-year Brannon, were among four injured in a two-vehicle crash on Friday, March 29 in Westerville, about two miles east of Polaris Fashion Place and Interstate 71.
Debra Harris was transported in critical condition to Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital, where she died later that day. Brannon and Darius were seriously injured and taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Harris said that Darius had some bruising from smashing into the car window, while Brannon suffered fractures throughout his body.
According to the Franklin County
Coroner’s office, medics indicated that Debra Harris may have suffered a medical issue while driving Friday with her
two grandchildren that led her to go left of center and crash into the other vehicle involved in the crash.
Brittney Harris told The Dispatch on Monday that she is still processing the crash and losing her mother, whom she described as her “best friend.”
“It’s just really hard to process. Anyone who knows me knows that my mother and I were close,” said Harris. “I’m just running on autopilot.”
Harris said that her two sons seem to be finding a routine as they recover from their injuries at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
A Gofundme has been set up to help the family as they begin their recovery process.
The two other people injured were in the other vehicle involved in the crash, but their identifies are not known as Westerville police had not as of early Tuesday afternoon released a traffic accident report or additional information about the crash.
A Westerville police spokesperson told The Dispatch that an official report was going to be available Tuesday morning. smeighan@dispatch.com @Shahidmeighan