Mom of 2 Dies While Taking Brother Home After Being Hit by Wrong-Way Driver. Police Say Alcohol Is Suspected to Be a Factor

Myeisha Darlene Pierson, a 38-year-old mom of two, died after she was involved in a wrong-way crash on a Los Angeles highway on Tuesday, July 21. Alcohol is suspected to be a contributing factor in the collision, officials said.

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A mom of two died in a wrong-way crash near Los Angeles in the early morning hours of July 21

She was driving her brother home from his first day of work when they were struck by a driver who officials say may have been under the influence of alcohol

An investigation into the collision is ongoing

A 38-year-old mother of two was killed in a fiery crash on a California highway. At the time, she was driving her brother home after his first day at a new job.

“The person that she is and the person that she was going to become — that was taken from me. It was taken from all of us,” Geneva Lawton told ABC affiliate KABC of her daughter, Myeisha Darlene Pierson, who died in the crash last month.

On July 21, just before 1 a.m. local time, officers witnessed a Toyota traveling south in the northbound lanes of Interstate 405 in Hawthorne and turned around to track the wrong-way vehicle, the California Highway Patrol said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. They later came across a traffic collision on the highway, south of Rosecrans Avenue.

Following a preliminary investigation, officials determined that the Toyota was traveling the wrong way in the northbound lanes when it struck a Dodge going north in the High Occupancy Vehicle lane head-on, authorities said.

The driver of the Dodge, later identified by family as Pierson, was pronounced dead at the scene. The vehicle’s passenger, later identified as her brother, Dashawn Henderson, suffered “moderate injuries,” while the driver of the Toyota was seriously injured and transported to a nearby hospital.

“Alcohol is suspected to have been a contributing factor in the actions of the Toyota driver,” officials said.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing, and the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Now, Pierson’s family is struggling to find a way forward — and hoping for justice.

“Every time I look at my family, I’m just scared to lose somebody else,” Quiyona Bridges told the outlet of her late sister, who is also survived by her two kids, ages 13 and 5.

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Before the deadly crash, Pierson was busy helping those dearest to her. She assisted her best friend ahead of a relative’s funeral and wanted to drive her brother back after he started his new job, according to the report.

Henderson was in the passenger seat when the collision occurred, resulting in a ruptured spleen, broken hip and several burns, the outlet reported.

His girlfriend, Essence Edwards, has launched a GoFundMe to help cover expenses for the family following the crash.

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“I was on the phone with them as they headed home on the 405 freeway going North,” wrote Edwards, who did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. “Suddenly, someone driving south in the northbound lanes hit them head-on.”

She added that Pierson was set to graduate from college next year for business management.

“This tragedy has left our family heartbroken,” Edwards wrote.

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