HOUSTON – A woman is dead after she was hit and killed on the side of the road around 3:35 p.m. Sunday.
Investigators said 54-year-old Cheryl Ann Jefferson, with her friend in the passenger seat, was driving on the feeder road on the South Beltway just before the Kirby Drive exit in southeast Houston.
Officials said the passenger accidentally threw some keys, along with some trash, out of the window.
According to investigators, Jefferson turned around and parked on the feeder to look for the keys. When she stopped, she put her parking flashers on and stepped into the street to look for the missing keys.
Police said as she was looking for her friend's keys, a man driving a grey Hyundai came from behind and hit Jefferson.
Investigators told Local 2 News the man claimed he did not see Jefferson at all, and did not even realize that her car was stopped.
Friends and loved ones said Jefferson had a saint-like quality and a huge, white smile that would light up any room. They said she was a strong woman, who worked three jobs, loved the church and would help anyone with anything.
Friends of Jefferson said they are grief stricken, but comforted by the fact that she died doing what she would have wanted to be doing -- doing her best to help someone out.
"She was trying to get her friends keys and she got out of her car and that's how she lost her life," said Jefferson's cousin, Lisa Filer-Miles.
DPS accident investigators questioned that driver about the deadly mishap Sunday night. It's unclear whether that man will be charged in the accident.
No other details surrounding this accident were released by police.