COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. (WRIC) — Family and friends are mourning the loss of the 19-year-old Chesterfield woman who died after a shooting on I-85 last week.
T’Miya Murphy was shot in the head while driving on the interstate in Dinwiddie County on Aug. 1. Murphy had been driving a 2017 Kia Optima south on I-85 around 11 a.m. when her car was shot at by a passing vehicle near Exit 63. The shooting caused her to run off the road, cross the southbound lanes and crash on the right shoulder.
As soon as emergency responders arrived, Murphy was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The next morning, State Police announced she had died from her injuries at the hospital.
One week later, her family held a vigil in her honor, with dozens of her loved ones in attendance.
“I never thought that I would be burying my child, I thought my child would be burying me,” Tomeka Murphy, T’Miya’s mother, said.
According to her mother, T’Miya had dreams of one day becoming a nurse. But those dreams and her life were cut short, and all her family is left with now is memories.
“T’Miya is very goofy and loved to dance and loved to sing,” Tomeka Murphy said. “She’s a lovable person. If she can help you, she will help you. And she’ll do anything she can.”
Tomeka Murphy wants whoever did this to her daughter to be brought to justice and for the gun violence in her community to stop.
“Just come forward. Just let me know why. So, I can have closure,” Tomeka Murphy said. “Too many young folks out here passing away and dying from gunshot wounds. And just they just need to put the guns down and let the kids live.”
Virginia State Police confirmed that as of Wednesday, a suspect has not been caught yet. They also said it was too early to say if T’Miya Murphy was targeted, but they believed the deadly shooting was an isolated incident. It is also not believed to be related to road rage.
State police are asking for anyone who saw anything to come forward and contact them at 804-609-5656.