Columbia bridge dedicated in honor of beloved victims of local accident

Oct. 26--A decade ago, Jane Williams Brawner and Susan Coleen McDonald McCoy were in a fatal traffic incident at the ramp leading from Industrial Drive to Highway 43 in Columbia.

The two were again remembered this week, when the same stretch of road was dedicated in their memory.

It was after 7 a.m. on Oct. 13, 2008, when Brawner saw that McCoy and Melissa Willmarth were stranded on the ramp heading toward Bear Creek Pike. She pulled over to help her two friends.

The sun got in the eyes of another driver, a young man, who accidentally hit the two vehicles with his pickup truck, killing McCoy instantly.

"It just so happened they were standing there," said Tony Brawner, recalling the accident that left his wife severely injured.

She passed away 11 days later from the injuries she sustained in the incident on Oct. 24 at Vanderbilt Medical Center. Brawner, age 51, was a resident of Highway 20 in Summertown. A Maury County native, she was a graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School and was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Mt. Pleasant.

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal," Brawner said. "Love leads a memory no one can steal."

For 33 years, she worked for the Tennessee Farmers Insurance Company. At the time of her death, she was the Coordinator of Incentives and Recognition. She also served on the Maury County Board of the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Eleven years earlier, the Brawners lost their daughter to cancer in April 1997. Amy Dorene Brawner was 14 when she died in their Summertown home.

"It was hard, but her purpose in life was to help others," Brawner said of his beloved wife. "She was a really big volunteer, always helping others and cooking for people on Sunday.

His wife would often volunteer with sick children in hospice.

"She was always helping others and Susie was the same way," Brawner continued.

He called the ceremony a bittersweet moment for his family and the McCoys.

State Representative Barry Doss, R-Leoma, read a proclamation naming the bridge over the busy highway in honor of the two longtime friends.

"It gives me a great feeling to now go through there," Brawner said. "I wouldn't even drive through there for the first few years, and every time I go though there you start thinking. It is awesome for her to be honored, and we appreciate everything being done."

McCoy, 55, and a fellow employee of the Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, died at the scene. A 1972 graduate of Columbia Central High School, she spent 20 years as a mail clerk at the Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company and was born and raised in Mary County.

She was a member of Williamsport Baptist Church.

"I think it was a wonderful tribute," said Jeremy McCoy of the memorial for his mother "A lot of people knew them. They had a lot of impact on people who didn't realize it."

He described his mother as a soft-spoken woman.

"She touched people quietly," McCoy said. "They were silently guiding people in the right direction. She was always smiling happy."

He said his mother always found happiness in being a grandmother.

"She had that special bond," McCoy said.

Both friends were known for their dedicated faith.

"There is a larger purpose, and we just have to trust and believe in that as we look to our faith," McCoy said.

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