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Detroit mother mourns son killed in crash by speeding driver

DETROIT – A mother is mourning her son after a fatal crash happened in Detroit.

“Even now, it’s just unbelievable. Not him. I just thought that happened to other people, not my child,” Lanita Baxter said.

Baxter said she finds it hard to move on because she can't stop thinking about her son, 34-year old Sherwin Cooper. She said family members called him Twell.

“He was the class clown. He made everybody laugh. His motto was ‘Don’t Worry about it. Be About it,’” said Baxter.

Now, she said, she is trying to live that slogan, but she said it's hard, especially after his life was taken so abruptly.

Baxter said Cooper; his wife, Latan Cooper; and his 9-year-old stepson were driving down Chalmers Street when the crash happened.

Police said 22-year old Markia Pitts T-boned them at the intersection of Chalmers and Frankfurt streets. Sherman and his wife died. Baxter said her youngest son called her with the news.

“No, they had to have the wrong person. It just couldn’t be true. It couldn’t possibly be true. Not my child. No. And it’s still surreal to me,” Baxter said.

Police said Pitts is charged with two counts of reckless driving causing death, causing serious impairment of a bodily function and one count of failure to stop at scene of property damage accident.

“This young lady has pretty much ruined our life, took something from us we can never get back,” said Baxter. 

The family said there will be a double funeral at Swanson Funeral Home on East Grand Boulevard and Mack Avenue.

Visitation will be held Saturday at 4 p.m. The funeral will be held Monday at 11 a.m. Donations to the family can be made through Swanson Funeral Home.


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