Cheryl Denise Irby, Devoted Grandmother Who Tenderly Held Her Grandson in His Final Moments in 2017, Passes Away in a Heartbreaking Multi-Vehicle Collision in Birmingham’s Kingston Community—Family Now Endures Another Devastating Tragedy Hours After Her Fatal Injuries Were Sustained

Cheryl Denise Irby, remembered by those closest to her as a deeply loving and compassionate woman who embodied resilience through unspeakable grief, has tragically passed away following a multi-vehicle accident in Birmingham, Alabama. This solemn incident unfolded Sunday afternoon in the city’s Kingston community, marking a poignant and painful chapter for the family of a woman who had already suffered the greatest loss imaginable when her beloved grandson took his final breath in her arms back in 2017. Now, after years of carrying the heavy burden of that sorrow, Cheryl has met an eerily similar fate—departing this life just as her grandson did: in a hospital room, surrounded by the consequences of sudden, violent tragedy.

At approximately 3:09 p.m. on Sunday, Cheryl Denise Irby was pronounced deceased at UAB Hospital, the same medical facility to which she was rushed following the harrowing crash that had left her critically injured. Emergency responders arrived swiftly at the scene, doing everything within their power to stabilize her and transport her for urgent care. But despite their best efforts and the immediate medical attention she received upon arrival, her injuries were ultimately too extensive to overcome.

A Tragic Collision Shatters Another Family Legacy

The accident occurred in Birmingham’s Kingston neighborhood, a densely traveled area known for frequent traffic incidents due to complex intersections and often fast-moving vehicles. While the full details of the crash are still under investigation by local authorities, early reports confirm that the collision involved multiple vehicles, resulting in a chaotic and destructive scene that drew the attention of first responders and community members alike.

Witnesses described the aftermath as emotionally charged and visually overwhelming, with twisted metal, shattered glass, and bystanders watching helplessly as medical professionals tried desperately to revive the victims. Cheryl, who sustained life-threatening injuries on site, was one of several involved. While others have since been identified or are currently recovering, her case has left a particularly deep impact due to the emotional weight of her past—and the tragic repetition of a storyline no family should ever have to relive.

A Grandmother’s Grief Revisited

Cheryl’s death resonates far beyond the boundaries of this single incident because it is intrinsically tied to a heartbreak that took place eight years ago—a moment frozen in time for those who remember the devastating story of her grandson, who passed away in 2017. That year, Cheryl made headlines and gained quiet admiration from her community as the grandmother who never left her grandson’s side, holding him close and whispering words of comfort until he took his final breath. Her image—soft-spoken, mourning, yet unbreakably strong—became a symbol of enduring love in the face of irreversible loss.

Family members described Cheryl at that time as “the pillar” holding everyone together. Her son and daughter-in-law, still broken over the loss of their child, often relied on Cheryl for emotional support. She was, they said, the heart of their family—someone who could console others even while bearing unimaginable sorrow of her own.

The grief never left Cheryl, but she wore it with quiet dignity. Friends said she spoke of her grandson often—not in ways that kept her mired in sadness, but as a way to honor his memory. She kept his photos close, participated in local events about child safety and health care access, and volunteered at her church, helping organize outreach events for families in crisis.

A Familiar Pain, Reopened

Now, the very same family who watched Cheryl pour herself into healing after their first tragedy is once again mourning an unfathomable loss. For them, Sunday’s crash did more than just take a life—it shattered the fragile healing that had been built over eight long years. Her daughter, speaking softly through tears, said, “It feels like we’re watching the same movie all over again. Only this time, it’s our mother who didn’t make it.”

Loved ones gathered outside UAB Hospital in the hours following Cheryl’s death, clinging to one another for strength and recounting stories of her quiet kindness, her laughter, her unwavering faith, and her constant love. One family member brought with her a photo album Cheryl had assembled herself, filled with handwritten captions and memories of the child she had lost—and now, tragically, it will be her own life that is memorialized on those pages.

The Community Responds

As news of the crash and Cheryl’s passing spread across Birmingham’s Kingston neighborhood, community members expressed outrage, sorrow, and frustration at yet another fatal traffic incident occurring in a part of the city already plagued by dangerous roads. Residents have been calling for years for improved traffic safety measures, citing blind intersections, poor signage, and reckless driving as frequent contributors to the area’s troubling accident rate.

Local activist and longtime Kingston resident Melinda Parker spoke during an impromptu vigil near the site of the crash Sunday evening. “We are losing our people because the infrastructure here doesn’t protect us. Cheryl Irby should be alive. And if we don’t change something now, she won’t be the last we lose.”

The city has made incremental improvements in response to prior collisions, but critics argue that change has been too slow and too reactive. Sunday’s tragedy may now become a catalyst for renewed demands to prioritize safety on Kingston’s busiest thoroughfares. Several attendees at the vigil carried signs reading “Fix Our Roads” and “Remember Cheryl Denise Irby.”

A Legacy of Quiet Strength

Though her life was marked by extraordinary pain, Cheryl Denise Irby never became bitter. Instead, she embodied the kind of resilience that inspires everyone who bears witness to it. After losing her grandson, she didn’t retreat from the world—she moved closer to it, choosing connection over isolation, love over despair.

In the days to come, her family will plan memorial services, sift through her belongings, and try to make sense of a world in which Cheryl’s warmth no longer lives. But they will also carry forward the legacy she left behind—a legacy of selfless love, of strength in sorrow, and of unwavering devotion to those she cared for most deeply.

Her pastor, Reverend Thomas L. Ward, shared during Sunday’s service, “She lived with a broken heart, but she gave every piece of it to someone else. That’s what made her so special. She wasn’t just surviving—she was still giving, still loving.”

In Memory

As Birmingham reflects on the tragedy, Cheryl Denise Irby’s name will undoubtedly remain etched into the hearts of many. The circumstances of her death are a stark reminder of how quickly life can be taken, but her memory is a gentler, deeper reminder of how powerful one life can be.

Her family now prepares for the difficult days ahead, knowing that their grief is shared by a community that has come to see Cheryl not just as a victim of a tragic crash, but as a symbol of enduring love in a world too often marked by loss. As they work to honor her memory and advocate for safer roads, they carry with them the image of a woman who once held her dying grandson and whispered love into his ear—and now, in a tragic echo, has taken that same path into eternity.