Family mourns 94-year-old matriarch killed in Turnpike crash – NBC 6 South Florida

A family is mourning the loss of a 94-year-old matriarch who was killed on her birthday when the van she was riding in was involved in a fiery crash on the Florida Turnpike in Broward.

Earnestine Morris turned 94 on Tuesday. Her daughter, Thyra Johnson, called to wish her a happy birthday. She knew her mother was in South Florida, but wasn’t sure what the plans were.

“I said ‘Happy birthday 94 years old,’ she said ‘Thank you, darling,’ I said ‘I want you to know I love you,’ she said ‘I love you too,'” Johnson said .

Hours later, Morris was gone.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Morris was in a van with eight other people when the driver of the van struck a tractor-trailer on the Florida Turnpike north of Griffin Road.

Morris died in the accident. The eight other people in the van were her relatives. They were taken to the hospital.

All Johnson can think about is that phone call hours ago.

“I didn’t know that yesterday would be my last conversation with my mom,” Johnson said. “I don’t know what happened, I just know that my mother is gone.”

Johnson said the family lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She said her mother loved God and she passed that love on to her eight children. Six are still alive, including Johnson. She said her mother loved people. Morris was a grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother.

“She taught us and taught us to respect other people, that’s the kind of woman my mother was,” Johnson said. “My mother was a woman of obedience and authority.”

Johnson relies on her faith to get through the most difficult time of her life.

“He came and took the elder with him. He could have taken them all,” Johnson said. “I have no control over the will of the Lord and accept it as it is.”

The exact cause of the crash is still under investigation.