Fort Worth woman killed in Garland tornado was driving back from a funeral

A Fort Worth woman was killed Saturday night when her Chevrolet Tahoe was destroyed by an EF-4 tornado that blew over a Garland freeway.

She was one of 11 who died in twisters that night.

Sharva Sanders, 42, was headed home from Royse City with longtime boyfriend Morris Carr and his aunt after the funeral for Carr’s brother, family member Shonta Woods said Monday.

About 6:45 p.m., the tornado, with wind speeds up to 200 mph, picked up and tossed vehicles near Interstate 30 and the George Bush Turnpike, according to authorities.

Garland’s tornado was one of nine that night that also killed three people in Collin County, destroyed hundreds of homes and injured many, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

“I got the call at 3 a.m. that Sharva had died and they had to CareFlite Morris to Plano with damaged lungs and broken bones,” Woods said.

Carr was to have undergone surgery Monday at The Medical Center of Plano and did not know that Sanders had died, Woods said. His aunt, Barbara Oxford, is also hospitalized with broken bones.

Sanders and Carr have two children together — a 7-year-old and a 12-year-old. Sanders has a 22-year-old son from a previous relationship, Woods said.

She has two grandchildren but was like a grandmother and mother to many, Woods said.

“She would do Sunday meals to get people together,” Woods said. “She was an amazing person. If she had it, you had it as well.”

Woods said she saw Sanders on Christmas Day, when the two hugged and laughed.

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 9:08 PM with the headline "Fort Worth woman killed in Garland tornado was driving back from a funeral."