TikTok creator Alyshia Rushing, known to roughly 540,000 followers as Mama-A, died early Saturday in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 85 in Montgomery, Alabama, that also killed a 20-year-old U.S. Marine.
Rushing, 26, of Tuskegee, was driving a 2013 Kia Sorento when the collision occurred at about 2:15 a.m. on Saturday, August 22, between the Taylor Road and Chantilly Parkway exits, Montgomery police told local outlets. A preliminary crash report obtained by WSFA 12 News shows her vehicle traveling northbound in the southbound lanes when it struck a 2015 Toyota Tacoma driven by Landon Dunn, 20, of Greenville, in the center lane. Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene. A female passenger in Rushing’s SUV was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
“There are no words that can fully express the pain of losing someone so suddenly,”
wrote Minutez Greer, the children’s father, on a GoFundMe he organized for the family.
“That heartbreak is especially deep for Alyshia’s four precious children: Karter, Raelynn, Zoey, and Aydan. Alyshia was their mother, caregiver, provider, safe place, and greatest source of love.”
Rushing’s final TikTok, a clip of herself trying on a wig she had been eyeing, was posted less than an hour before the crash. The video, since circulated by news outlets, was titled with a string of affectionate shout-outs to the wig shop and the hairpiece itself. She had built her audience over several years by posting everyday moments of motherhood: the chaos, the small wins, the long stretches of staying sane that she openly admitted she did not always manage.
Rushing’s mother, Crystal Smitherman, confirmed the death through a separate GoFundMe she organized to cover funeral costs and support the four children.
“She was an amazing mother of four, a content creator, and one of the strongest women I have ever known,”
Smitherman wrote, in remarks also quoted by People.
“Alyshia was always good to everybody, had a great heart, and loved the Lord. She touched so many lives with her kindness, strength, and love, and the loss of her has left a pain our family can barely put into words.”
Dunn, a Greenville resident, was driving from North Carolina to visit his family and his girlfriend when the crash occurred, according to a fundraiser organized by Robert Howard, a fellow Marine who served with him for a year and a half.
“Landon and I worked together in the US Marine Corps for a year and a half, and losing him at only 20 years old has been devastating,”
Howard wrote, per the New York Post.
“He was involved in a head-on collision while trying to go see his family and his girlfriend, and the people who loved him are now facing an unimaginable loss.”
“The Marine Corps has lost a young man who was looked to with one of the purest hearts I have known,”
Howard added, in a quote also carried by AL.com.
Initial reporting from WSFA noted that one of the vehicles was on fire when first responders arrived, though the preliminary report does not address speed, impairment, or how Rushing’s vehicle entered the wrong lanes. Montgomery police said the investigation remains open, with autopsies and toxicology reports from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences still pending.
Friends and followers have filled social media with messages of support for the four children left behind. Funeral arrangements for both families have not been publicly detailed. The Montgomery Police Department continues to investigate the double-fatal crash and has asked anyone with information to contact investigators.
Sources
- WSFA 12 News: WSFA obtains preliminary crash report in double-fatal I-85 crash in Montgomery
- AL.com (Carol Robinson): TikTok influencer mother of 4 and 20-year-old Marine killed in Montgomery wreck
- New York Post (Anthony Blair): Influencer Mama A dies in horrific crash that also killed young Marine
- People: TikTok Star ‘Mama A’ Dies at Age 26 in Late-Night Car Crash
- Dexerto: TikTok star Mama A dies at 26 in car crash that also killed 20-year-old Marine
