Young mother fatally struck by 2 cars while crossing the street: ‘It happened so suddenly’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV/Gray News) - Loved ones are remembering a 20-year-old mother who was fatally struck by two cars while crossing the street in Tennessee just weeks before her daughter’s first birthday.

Ask those who knew 20-year-old Kira Phillips what was most important to her, and you’ll get the same answer every time.

“Kira loved her baby with everything in her,” friend Tawanta Crutcher said. “She lived for her baby.”

Phillips was in the middle of planning her daughter’s first birthday party, and her loved ones say she was going to go all out. The family was just weeks away from celebrating when the planning came to a sudden halt Friday night.

“She had went missing,” said Lateeka Brooks, the mother of Phillips’ boyfriend. “We didn’t know anything. We were trying to reach out to her, contact her. We just was kind of nervous, didn’t know what was going on because it’s not normal for her to just disappear like that.”

On Saturday morning, they got their answer.

Metro Nashville Police say Phillips was crossing the street around 5:40 p.m. Friday at an intersection in Antioch when she was hit by a car. The impact pushed her into the way of another car, which also hit her. She died at the scene.

“It happened so suddenly... and now, we’re just at a complete loss and a shock,” Crutcher said.

Phillips’ loved ones say they will always remember her work ethic and the fact that she was willing to take the bus, Uber or walk wherever she needed to to provide for her family.

“She was quiet. She loved her mom and her little sisters,” Crutcher said. “Kira, she always had a smile on her face, and that’s one thing that’s gonna be missed the most: her quiet smile.”

Police say both drivers involved stayed on the scene and didn’t show any signs of impairment.