HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- The Tuckahoe Volunteer Rescue Squad is remembering the life of 86-year-old Beverly Luther.
Henrico police said Luther was killed in a head-on collision Wednesday night near the intersection of Parham and Midway Roads, near Patterson Avenue.
Luther spent 16 years as a dispatcher for the squad and earned the title of "Life Member."
She worked the daytime shift every Wednesday.
"She took pride in what she did and pride in Tuckahoe," said John Tatum, President of the Tuckahoe Volunteer Rescue Squad.
Tatum said Luther had just finished her shift Wednesday evening when she died in the crash that happened just before 8 p.m.
"It was utter shock," said Ed Farrish who worked with Luther for over 10 years. "I just couldn't believe it."
Farrish said Luther was the mother figure of the crew at the Tuckahoe Volunteer Rescue Squad.
"She kept us in line," he said.
He and others said Luther wasn't just a colleague, but like family to those at the rescue squad.
"Just a very sweet person," said John Tatum.
Members say Wednesdays at the stations won't ever be the same.
"It will be an openness, very open feeling, that missed feeling," said Tatum.
Luther was driving north on Parham when her Volvo crossed the median and hit a southbound Mercury head on, police said. The other driver, an adult female, suffered life-threatening injuries.
“Neither alcohol nor speed appear to be factors in this crash,” Henrico Police spokesman Lt. Linda Toney wrote in an email. “No charges have been placed.”
