GREENSBORO, N.C. — Maranda Barksey recently lost her sister in a car crash in Greensboro, just months after losing their mom. Deep sorrow over the recent death of her sister, 43-year-old Desiree Brooks, continues for her family.
"I felt shocked [Saturday], and Sunday… I was also shocked— I STILL am shocked," Barksey said.
Greensboro Police said Brooks and another driver collided on Benjamin parkway near Josephine Boyd Street Saturday, February 3, causing her car to flip. She was ejected from her car and died at the scene. Police believe brooks was not wearing a seatbelt at the time.
GPD's Crash Reconstruction Unit is still investigating the incident.
When Barksey got the call from her father, she immediately started thinking about her sisters 6-year-old twins, "there's no good news but you know, that was meaningful to learn that at least the kids weren't in the car."
Barksey describes her sister as playful yet fierce. That she was the definition of a 'momma bear'.
Barksey now feels that 'momma bear energy' transferring over to her.
"The ferocity I talked about in my sister exists in me too and I feel that momma bear energy for the kids and so I'll do anything I have to to put myself out there, put the story out there and raise as much support as I can for the kids," Barksey said.
She tells WFMY News 2's Nixon Norman the amount of support her family has received has put the wind back in her sails. Although this is something they will never truly get over, she's confident that Desiree can rest easy knowing her children are in good hands.
"I think Des knows, I think she knows the kids are gonna be okay, like they'll be okay, I will make sure of that," Barksey said.
Nearly 40,000 dollars has already been raised in support of Brook's twins as they learn to navigate life without their mother.
Beyond living in Greensboro over the past couple of decades, Brook's family owned the downtown gift shop, Glitters. The gift shop officially closed in 2018 but had been sitting on the corner of Elm and Washington since 1988.
Brooks worked at Glitters several times throughout her life, with one of her former coworkers, Susan Watson, saying this about her friend in part, "I had been working for their family since she was 17 and didn't work in the store yet. She was like a little sister. I spent every Thanksgiving with her and her family for a couple of decades, even for years after I didn't work there anymore. When working at the shop we would spend time making crazy displays with weird themes. We had regular customers who would come in daily to hang and chat. She was a weirdo, in the best way. Weirdos are my people."
