Last week, a 26-year-old Tennessee woman leaped over an overpass with her toddler on Monday— killing herself and her son.
The incident happened shortly after midnight, according to a spokesman for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
Tonisha Lashay Barker has been identified as the mother.
Barker reportedly leapt from the overpass, just south of exit 93 on Intestate 40.
Deputies were called to a gas station in Jackson just after midnight, after receiving reports that a female driver was attempting to crash her vehicle into the fuel tanks.
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While deputies were on their way, other calls came pouring in from witnesses who said the woman got out of her vehicle with a small child, walked over to the interstate overpass, and disappeared.
“A few minutes later, Dispatch received another call from a truck driver stating that a large object fell from the bridge and struck his truck as he was traveling west bound on I-40 at the Exit 93 bridge,” reads a statement from police.
Upon arrival, deputies discovered two bodies in the roadway.
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Barker’s son, Johnathan Jones, was just 21 months old.
Police are still working on a motive for the murder-suicide.
The incident continues to be under investigation by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
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