Norwood News

Friends and relatives of the five Norwood siblings who were killed in a horrific c©ar accident last month gathered Friday night to say final goodbyes at McCall’s Bronxwood Funeral Home on Bronxwood Avenue in Wakefield.

• Ian
• Jordan
• Laura

Heartbroken mother Pamela Ramharrack, 48, laid to rest five of her children: Jessica, 11; Anderson, 13; Emmanuel, 16; Anthony, 21; and Perthrian, 24, who were killed as the family’s Honda Accord swerved across a Suffolk, Virginia highway and collided with an oncoming truck on Tuesday, July 24.

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The oldest sibling, Perthrian GoPaul, leaves behind a husband and a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. She was presumed to be the driver.

As dozens of mourners packed the funeral home for the pre-funeral wake, Ramharrack said, "My kids were the most beautiful kids in the whole world. They were my million-dollar gift. They were everything to me."

The family was returning from an annual visit to North Carolina when the crash occurred.  

Neighbors of the family at 3395 Reservoir Oval West responded to news of the fatal accident with shock and sorrow for Ramharrack, who was inconsolable after she heard the news. Tenants in the building put up a small shrine of candles, flowers and teddy bears on the front stoop. The shrine has remained for a month.

After hearing of Ramharrack’s loss, community activist Joe Thompson reached out to the family, along with Pastor Jay Gooding of Fellowship Tabernacle Ministries.

"She was at sea, she was lost," Thompson said. "You can’t do this by yourself. I was moved by her circumstances, and I know Pastor Gooding was moved to help out."

They contacted other churches, the 49th Precinct Community Council and local elected officials to ask for their help in getting the word out and raising money to cover funeral expenses.