Friends, family hold car wash to pay for Gardena woman's funeral
Family and friends of a Gardena woman struck and killed by a car outside her home will hold a car wash Saturday to raise money for her funeral.
The car wash in memory of Jerilyn Fay Zimmerman will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 13714 S. Normandie Ave., said her daughter-in-law Elena Fender.
Known in her neighborhood as "Mama Jeri," the 65-year-old mother of five sons was crossing the street in the 1400 block of 135th Street at 5:45 a.m. Wednesday when a Mercedes-Benz struck her.
The car wash in memory of Jerilyn Fay Zimmerman will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 13714 S. Normandie Ave., said her daughter-in-law Elena Fender.
Known in her neighborhood as "Mama Jeri," the 65-year-old mother of five sons was crossing the street in the 1400 block of 135th Street at 5:45 a.m. Wednesday when a Mercedes-Benz struck her.
The driver stopped. He was not cited.
Zimmerman died at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Fender said family members suspect she ran from her house across the street to catch a bus to go to a doctor's appointment.
"She was just a real kind woman that helped everybody out," Fender said.
A Leuzinger High School graduate, Zimmerman grew up in the South Bay, living in Hawthorne and Gardena. A stay-at-home mother, she and her late husband raised five sons. She had 15 grandchildren.
She lived in her house for about 15 years.
"She didn't have any life insurance. She was on social security," Fender said. "All the family is pulling together."
Fender said Zimmerman was in good health and enjoyed bike riding. Wednesday's doctor's appointment was a normal checkup.
In the neighborhood, she earned her nickname because she would invite people in for meals and sometimes give them a place to sleep, Fender said.
"She was like a mom to everybody -- even homeless people she would help," Fender said. "Her home was everybody's home."
Zimmerman died at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Fender said family members suspect she ran from her house across the street to catch a bus to go to a doctor's appointment.
"She was just a real kind woman that helped everybody out," Fender said.
A Leuzinger High School graduate, Zimmerman grew up in the South Bay, living in Hawthorne and Gardena. A stay-at-home mother, she and her late husband raised five sons. She had 15 grandchildren.
She lived in her house for about 15 years.
"She didn't have any life insurance. She was on social security," Fender said. "All the family is pulling together."
Fender said Zimmerman was in good health and enjoyed bike riding. Wednesday's doctor's appointment was a normal checkup.
In the neighborhood, she earned her nickname because she would invite people in for meals and sometimes give them a place to sleep, Fender said.
"She was like a mom to everybody -- even homeless people she would help," Fender said. "Her home was everybody's home."
About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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