BUFFALO, N.Y. — A suspect being chased by police continued speeding on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway on Monday night when he struck a car on the side of the road. Brittany Burks, 27, was killed.
Burks, a native of Amherst, New York, was living in Maryland while attending the College of Dentistry at Howard University.
"Devastated, she was my only child," said Brittany's mom, Kim Swan.
She believes her daughter was pulled off on the shoulder of the road because she may have been experiencing car trouble.
A police officer informed Brittany's mother by phone the following day about the accident.
"Her phone was smashed in the accident, so they had to go to her apartment to find information," Swan said.
She was also told the driver who struck her daughter's vehicle was drunk.
Swan spoke with her daughter last week.
"When she starts studying she just shuts down, she won't answer the phone. She's always been like that from the time she was a kid," she said.
At the crash scene, some of Brittany's personal items, including what appeared to be her notes from a dental class.
"She was my life, I put everything I had into her because I wanted her to be successful," said her mom.
Brittany graduated from Amherst High School in 2010. She then attended St. John Fisher College.
Pamela Fordham was Brittany's high school teacher in Amherst.
"She always talked about wanting to be a dentist and she was just pursuing that goal and wasn't going to let anything stop her. I was always inspired by her drive and her level head," Fordham said.
"She was one of my favorite students while she was at the high school. I had the opportunity to go on a college trip with her in North Carolina," Fordham added. "I feel like I benefited as much from mentoring her as maybe she benefited from having a mentor."
Funeral arrangements are being finalized by the family.