Friends mourn Coast Radio Group employee killed when car plowed into building

No sermon could soothe their pain. So on Sunday, two days after Liz Thornburg died when a car sped through her Gulfport office, her mourning congregation started to sing.

Their voices rose and trembled as they recited a hymn. They prayed together. And one by one, some with arms around each other, the people who knew the beloved 59-year-old Coast Radio Group employee moved to the front of the church she attended, to be anointed with holy oil.

“She was truly an extraordinary human being,” The Rev. Dr. Jane Stanley, her longtime pastor, said on Monday as she flipped through old church albums filled with photos of Thornburg, always smiling.

“She was just lovely.”

This week, grieving family and friends were still processing the tragedy that unfolded last Friday, when an out-of-control BMW sedan crashed 40 feet into the Coast Radio Group building, killing Thornburg and injuring three others.

Gulfport Police said Tuesday that the cause of the crash was still unclear but that authorities were investigating all possibilities, including whether the driver may have been under the influence or had a medical emergency. The driver has not been charged with a crime. Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer said last week that the crash did not appear intentional.

The car tore a hole through the front of the office and crumbled bricks on the Coast Radio Group sign outside. Popular stations there, including 95.3 Gorilla and Kicker 108, said on social media that several injured employees were alright and that the building would stay closed until Wednesday.

“We are devastated by this unimaginable loss,” the stations said.

Thornburg graduated from Gulfport High School in 1984 and spent all her life on the Mississippi Coast. She enjoyed attending Jeepin’ the Coast and the Long Beach Mardi Gras parade, according to her obituary, and was a New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Braves fan. She was skilled at photography and often shared photos of vibrant coastal sunsets.

“She was just an exceptional young lady, with a very giving heart,” said Rose Williams, who played dice games and Yahtzee in a group with Thornburg on Sunday afternoons.

Now, Williams added, “you just shake your head and say how can something like that happen?”

Friends still in shock this week recalled memories of Thornburg’s compassion. They said she drove miles just to pick older friends up for church or bible study and came early on Sundays to help feed the homeless. She was a board member at her church, The Nourishing Place, and supported the nonprofit group Mississippi Heroes, which builds wheelchair ramps for people in need. She never said a mean word about anyone, friends recalled, and always gave people hugs.

“Liz never waited to be asked — she was always involved, always helping, always finding a way to give,” another friend, Katherine Sutton, said. “Her generosity was matched only by her humility. She did not serve for recognition but because it was who she was.”

At church, where she knew everyone, Thornburg was “just a delight to be with,” said Helen Evans, the pianist.

“And the church really became her family,” Stanley said.

“She was fun,” Evans said.

“Quite a lady,” Stanley said. “She had a big, big heart and she acted on it.”

At the end of the service on Sunday, the congregation prayed together again. The pastor asked that they keep Thornburg’s family in their prayers.

Then, their voices rising once more, they sang another hymn with a simple refrain: Bind us together.

This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 8:42 AM.