Vigil honors mom, young boy killed in suspected road rage crash

HOUSTON

A small vigil was held Wednesday night for Tania Vercher and her son AJ.

There's been a darkness cast over Mandalay Bay Drive in Baytown.

"Tania and AJ were so full of life. Tania was always happy and AJ would always come over and play with my son," neighbor Jenell Fisher said.

On Wednesday night, a hand, a face, a flicker at a time was the way neighbors shared their light.

"He was the sweetest little boy, and Tania was a wonderful, wonderful mother," neighbor Horacio Trevino said.

Heath Vercher lost his wife and only child. Sheriff's deputies say Tania and AJ Vercher were innocent victims in a suspected road rage incident Sunday.

Investigators say Emil McMahon was allegedly trying to run his wife off the road in her vehicle after they got into a fight when he struck the Vercher's instead on FM 1943 near Garth Road. Charges are still pending against him.

In just a few hours Tuesday night, neighbors were raising money to help with the funeral.

"It's a beautiful thing. I personally have never seen so many people come together for a neighbor. I'm amazed and so thankful," Trevino said.

Even the children of Legends Bay neighborhood have noticed something different, asking parents where 2-year-old AJ is.

"I still can't believe it. We're used to seeing Tania and AJ drive up and AJ saying hello to everybody in the neighborhood," Trevino said.

While they know their neighbor's life will never be the same, this is their way of showing their street is forever changed, too.

"It's hard enough losing your wife, even harder losing a son, even harder living with the financial burden of covering everything," Fisher said.

After AJ's death, he saved two lives. His heart went to a two-year-old boy in Dallas, and his liver was sent to a young man in New Mexico.

Neighbors have set up a fund at Wells Fargo under the name Heath Vercher.

Find Christine on Facebook at ABC13ChristineDobbyn or on Twitter at @christinedobbyn

Take ABC13 with you!
Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices

Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.