Rochester woman, 29, dies in crash in Berwick: 'She loved her little girl'
BERWICK, Maine — The day before Rochester, New Hampshire, resident Ashanti Cox, died at age 29 was like many other days. But it's one her sister doesn't take for granted.
Cox and her sister, LaTashia Salter, sat outside their cousin’s home talking about life last Friday, watching their kids play in a little inflatable pool. Cox’s 4-year-old daughter Armanii was so eager she jumped in the kiddie pool with her school dress still on, Salter recalled.
“It was 96 degrees but we just sat out there and joked around,” Salter said. “That was how we always were.”
Salter didn’t know that would be the last time she’d see her sister.
Cox died early Saturday morning on Route 9. Berwick police said Cox was driving a 2020 Kia Telluride when she drove off the road on School Street (Route 9) near the Old Sanford Road intersection, crashing into two trees around 4:46 a.m.
Salter said Cox had gone out that night and was headed to her brother’s house in Berwick. Salter said she had missed a call from her sister shortly after 4 a.m. and their brother had received a call that she was 15 minutes away, but she never showed.
“I tried to call her back around 7:30 a.m. to see what was going on. I found out 30 minutes later that she was gone,” Salter said.
She was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene, despite life-saving attempts by first responders, according to police. No other vehicles were involved in the crash. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, according to police.
“She was my baby sister, but she was kind of more like my baby because we are 16 years apart so I've always had a hand in raising her,” Salter said. “She had her life falling in line. She had a great job, worked with great people, was a great mom."
Salter said Cox was the jokester of the family, and she was “always dancing, always singing.” She misses when her sister would come over or call her, and say “sista sista!” to announce her arrival.
“That was our little thing,” Salter said. “She’d walk in and say “What’s cooking? And it always made me laugh. I just miss her so much.”
Cox was the backbone of the family and someone people in her life could depend on, Salter said.
“If you were sad, she’d cheer you up. If your depression was getting to you, she’d make sure you get out of bed, get you dressed and take you somewhere to make sure you weren’t stuck in that darkness alone,” Salter said.
Cox is remembered as a mother who fiercely loved her 4-year-old daughter Armanii. A GoFundMe has been set up to help Cox's family.
“My heart breaks for my niece,” Salter said. “She only got four years with her mama, and that’s not enough. It’s a huge loss to the community, to our family. She was a very protective mama, who loved to sing and dance with her daughter, always making little quirky videos together.”
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Cox was an inside sales account manager at Win Waste Innovations in Portsmouth. One of Cox’s co-workers, Carmelita Smith, said that she was known for her upbeat personality and will be dearly missed by “everyone who had the chance to meet her.
"She stayed positive and always had a smile on her face, constantly brightening everyone’s day at the office with her upbeat personality,” Smith said. “Her soul was enlightening, and she loved her little girl.”
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Berwick police ask anyone who witnessed the crash to contact Sgt. Jeffrey Pilkington at the Berwick Police Department at j.pilkington@berwickpd.org or 207-698-1136 (option No. 1).
This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Ashanti Cox of Rochester NH dies in crash in Berwick ME
