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Fort Worth Star-Telegram Published: February 7, 2001 Motorist is killed while lending aid Loved ones aren't surprised that the Keller mom stopped to help victims in collision By Kelly Melhart, Mike Lee and Khalil Abdullah Star-Telegram staff writer Leesa Sheffield always tried to help others, so when she saw a traffic accident late Monday night, friends believe that she did not hesitate. She rushed to the side of an injured woman, comforted her until help arrived, then headed back across the highway to the car where her 7-year-old son was waiting. She probably never saw the police cruiser coming. As Sheffield crossed U.S. 377, she was struck by a Trophy Club/Westlake Department of Public Safety car and was thrown about 100 feet. The single mother died at the scene. She was 32. "It was a very hard impact," said Fionna Johnson, the woman who had been injured in the two-vehicle collision at Keller-Haslet Road and U.S. 377 (Denton Highway). "... I didn't know who she was, but I know that if she hadn't stopped to help me, she wouldn't be dead. I also know if she hadn't stopped, I might be dead. I don't know where the justice is." Family members believe that Sheffield's son, Jacob, saw the accident. He was not found until 45 minutes after his mother had been hit, said Judy Tidwell, Sheffield's former mother-in-law and a close friend. He was asleep in the back seat when found, curled in the fetal position, Tidwell said. Jacob is with his father at Tidwell's home in Roanoke. "He seems to be doing OK," she said. "He's making some comments: 'I have no mother anymore.' He misses her. He is drawing some sad faces and stuff." Family members and friends said Jacob and his mother were inseparable. "I believe that they were both each other's world," said Charlotte Woodward, a second-grade teacher at Keller-Harvel Elementary School, where Jacob attends second grade. "He probably found his place with her, and her with him. This is just very sad." Each person who recalled Sheffield on Tuesday mentioned her generous nature and how she went out of her way to help others. Monday night, Sheffield had picked up Tidwell's teen-age daughter from dance class and taken her home. Sheffield stayed later than she had planned to give Tidwell's daughter a haircut. "That's what she was doing last night, she was doing something for me," Tidwell said Tuesday. On her way back to her home in Keller, Sheffield stopped at her best friend's apartment to drop off some chocolate. "I was in a rotten mood, and chocolate helps everything, right?" Shannon Kirk said. "I didn't know she was coming by." Minutes later, Sheffield drove by the two-vehicle collision on U.S. 377. "She was always helping somebody," Kirk said. "She didn't have to know them to do it." Sheffield was hit by a car driven by officer D.S. Layton of the Trophy Club/Westlake Department of Public Safety, state trooper Craig Bickers said. Layton was using his emergency lights and sirens as he responded to the collision, Bickers said. There are no street lights in that area of the two-lane highway, and witnesses said that the officer probably did not see Sheffield until he hit her. The patrol car's windshield, hood and front bumper were damaged. Layton was uninjured. Bickers said he is reviewing audiotapes and videotapes from the officer's car and is trying to determine the police cruiser's speed from evidence at the scene. Layton, who has been placed on routine administrative leave while the accident is being investigated, is upset about Sheffield's death and did not give a statement Tuesday, officials said. Bickers said he expects to interview Layton within a few days. Layton has been employed at the Trophy Club/Westlake DPS for four months after working as a Lake Worth police officer for about two years, said Amy Hughes, a DPS spokeswoman. The initial accident occurred when Johnson, driving a Buick Century, slowed on northbound U.S. 377 to turn left on Keller-Haslet Road, police said. Her car was struck from behind by a pickup driven by Cody Bybee, 17, police said. Johnson's car came to rest sideways in the middle of the road, police said. Bybee's truck ended up on the right shoulder, police said. Johnson, 31, had glass in her eye and was taken to a Grapevine hospital, where she was treated and released, officials said. Lt. Tommy Williams, a Keller Police Department spokesman, said a case will not be pursued against either driver. Sheffield had rescheduled her life around her son and was going back to school to become a better provider, Tidwell said. She took Jacob with her when she worked as a hair stylist at The Hairshow in Keller. She took him to the park and taught him the names of the animals. They often fed the ducks. Sheffield recently stopped working at The Hairshow but frequently returned to visit. She was there Monday afternoon. "She was a very caring person," stylist Karen Chatham said. "Leesa loved that little boy more than anything. Her whole life was centered around him." On Tuesday, counselors helped staff members and students at Keller-Harvel Elementary deal with Sheffield's death. Teachers read a statement and discussed the accident with their students at the start of classes. A letter was sent home with students to inform parents, campus counselor Barbara Yeargin said. Students made cards and wrote letters of support for Jacob, and by the end of the day they had begun to pile up on his desk, Yeargin said. "We're always sad when something like this happens," she said. There will be a memorial for Sheffield at 7 p.m. Friday at Up 'N Smoke BBQ House in Keller. Funeral arrangements are pending.