Brijette Basden was one of the fastest runners on the Shaw University track team during her tenure.

After reuniting with many of her teammates for homecoming, police say she died in a crash on I-40.

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Her teammates describe her as sweet, genuine, kind and thoughtful.

“To think about her smile, you can correlate that with what's inside, too,” Symone Wright-Flowers told WRAL.

According to the university athletics website, Basden had been on the team from 2022-2025. Wright-Flowers trained with Basden for about two of those years.

“She had these beautiful, bright eyes...To just be able to look at her and see the kindness that she holds, it radiates,” Wright-Flowers said. “The big, cheesy smile…Brijette, she is going to show every single tooth she had, and we loved it.”

Sunday morning, just before 5 a.m., a crash shutdown much of I-40 near Page Road.

Durham police say Basden had pulled over to switch places with her sister. Police tell us the car was still partially in the road. They were both standing outside the car, when another car hit them .. and then veered into another car.

Basden died in the crash.

“She was trying to do the right thing by saying she was tired and switching with her sister,” Wright-Flowers told WRAL. “To just hear that she was trying to do the right thing, the responsible thing, and it was a freak accident like that, is just heartbreaking.”

Shaw University Athletics shared in a post on Facebook, the university was “deeply saddened by the tragic loss.”

“Brijette’s spirit, determination, and bright energy left a lasting impact on all who knew her both on and off the track. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, teammates, and loved ones during this difficult time,” the post read in part.

Anijah Triggs was also teammates with Basden, as well as her sorority sister in the Beta Theta Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. She said Basden was one of a kind.

“Brijette is really beautiful inside and out,” Triggs said. “[I am] very grateful that [I will] always be able to carry her in [my] heart as a friend and sister and soror.”