An 18-year-old male has been charged with felony murder for the death of a 75-year-old pastor, who is also the mother of a Houston Police Department sergeant.
According to The Christian Post, Trenton Bevel struck Gloria Collins at a red light around 10:15 a.m. on Sept. 7 on Martin Luther King Boulevard, near Van Fleet Street. At the time, Bevel was driving a stolen Dodge Charger and being chased by police until they lost sight of him.
Collins, who was about two miles from her MacGregor Park-area home, was pronounced dead at the scene, The Houston Chronicle reports. On Thursday, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner identified Collins as the mother of an HPD sergeant. Two others were taken to the hospital with non-threatening injuries sustained from the crash.
One of Collins’ family members told KHOU that she served as a faith leader with the Church of the Living God. Jerry Burley, who knew Collins for 30 years and was her pastor for 15, said Collins “had so much talent it was unreal. Anything she set her mind to do. She did it.
“She had a whole lot of people that loved her, and I don’t know when her service is going to be, but wherever it is, I can assure you it’s going to be full,” he added. “She was just that type of woman.”
Bevel, who remains hospitalized in critical condition, has been charged with felony murder and has a bond set for $500,000. A day before the fatal crash, the suspect and another man carjacked the Charger from Cathleen Hill in the Hobby airport area.
“These two young guys dressed in camo, a ski mask, they robbed me at gunpoint,” Hill recalled.
Homegoing services for Collins took place last Thursday at 5th Ward Baptist Church in Houston.
“We were excited about the upcoming conference in Temple. I get a call that broke my heart. I’m still in disbelief, but God is a God that makes no mistakes, and you are a woman that loves our Heavenly Father,” wrote Cecilia Blane Darden on Facebook. “He called his daughter home, but God my God my God, one day we will rejoice again, Dr. Gloria Collins. A few years ago, we celebrated the Superbowl at Sea, we had a wonderful time.”
Photo courtesy: ©Scott Rodgerson/Unsplash
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
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