DEARBORN — Before Press TV Correspondent Serena Shim died, she called Dearborn resident Kathy Bazzi, telling her she was scared that Turkish officials were going door to door looking for her after she gained access to images showing militants crossing the Turkish border into Syria in trucks belonging to the World Food Organization and non governmental organizations (NGOs).

According to a report, days leading up to her death, Shim, a former Dearborn resident, told Press TV that the Turkish intelligence had accused her of spying because of the stories she covered about Turkey’s stance on the ISIS terrorists in Kobani and its surroundings. Shim also said she feared being arrested. 

Two days later, on Sunday, Oct. 19, Shim’s car collided with a heavy vehicle after returning from a reporting scene in Suruc, Turkey. The identity and the whereabouts of the truck driver remain unknown.

“It wasn’t an accident…Serena was reporting on the frontlines,” Bazzi said. “She had discovered that the ISIS were using Turkey and using WFO to cross over from Turkey to Syria…Her cousin is her camerawoman and she was driving the car and had this so-called accident.”

Shim leaves behind her husband, Ibrahim, and two children, her son, Ali, 4 and daughter Ajmal, 3. 

Shim’s family and friends are seeking justice for the 29-year-old journalist. They have reached out to the U.S. embassy in Turkey according to Bazzi, but still haven’t received any answers. The family has also asked the American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee in Washington D.C. for help.

Bazzi said the authorities are not helping the family, who are looking for answers.  

She also said she believes the accident was a cover-up used to kill Shim for what she had recently reported. 

She said Shim’s family, who live in metro Detroit, is devastated about her death. 

Shim attended Lowrey Elementary School in Dearborn. Many of her close friends and family members referred to her as “sassy.” 

“’Sassy’, that is what we always referred to her as, even when she was younger,” Bazzi said. “She just had that attitude.”

Hundreds of people, including Lebanese political and religious figures, attended Shim’s funeral in Beirut.  

Shim was also reportedly one of few journalists who had produced stories about Takfiri militants’ infiltration into Syria through the Turkish border.

“This girl was very outgoing and loved by everyone she came in contact with,” Bazzi said. “She loved doing things for people she was just a wonderful young lady.”