ST. LOUIS — Brionna Jimerson lights up when she thinks about her mother, Michele Jimerson.
"If you knew her for 15 seconds, you all were friends," she said. "That was her spirit 100%."
Brionna grew up in St. Louis and currently lives in New York. She said her mom, a former preschool and day care teacher, always pushed her to achieve her dreams and inspired her to become a product marketing manager and a freelance journalist.
"I went to Jefferson Elementary School on Jefferson, and whether we were going to Eckert's Farm or anywhere in the city, my mom was always the first parent to sign up, which made me proud," Brionna said.
Their special bond ended suddenly. Last Tuesday night, St. Louis police called Jimerson and said her mother was struck and killed by not one but two cars near the intersection of Page Boulevard and Clarendon Avenue in north S. Louis.
"My mom was such a loyal St. Louisan, and this was so unnecessary," the woman's daughter said.
Michele died three weeks after her 60th birthday.
"It's just so surreal," Brionna said. "I'm not angry. It just feels like an injustice for this to have happened to her in the city where she lived and loved."
Family members told 5 On Your Side that Jimerson got off a bus and was riding her wheelchair across Page to return home from a doctor's appointment at the time.
"My mom suffered a second stroke about a year and a half ago and used a wheelchair to get around, but she didn't let that stop her," Brionna said. "She was very energetic, well-known in her neighborhood and was very familiar with the bus routes. She was just trying to get home."
One week later, the family said police still have not given them descriptions of the drivers or the cars that hit their loved one.
"Right now, there's absolutely no accountability, not from the people who drove the cars, not from the city and not from police. There's just no answers," Michele's sister Marlo Jimerson said.
The family cannot believe Page Avenue, the street where their loved one was born, is where she lost her life.
"I now have a 4-foot-11 guardian angel up in heaven watching over me," Brionna said. "I just want what is right to be done by my mom. I will stay on the police until I get the answers we deserve."
5 On Your Side reached out to St. Louis Police Department spokespersons hoping someone would address the family's concerns, but as of Tuesday night, we had not heard back.
Resources for crime victims
If you have been a victim of a crime or know someone who has been, 5 On Your Side has compiled a list of resources.
The Crime Victim Center of St. Louis has multiple programs to support victims of crime. Crime Victim Center’s programs range from direct services to crime victims as well as “creating awareness and change within the systems they encounter.”
Life Outside of Violence "helps those harmed by stabbing, gunshot or assault receive the treatment, support and resources they need to find alternatives to end the cycle of violence."
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis has the Neighborhood Healing Network, which serves people who have experienced crime, violence or been the victim of an incident that caused trauma.
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