HARRIS COUNTY, TX - A 61-year-old Texas woman was killed when she was hit by a stray bullet from celebratory gunfire on New Year's Day.

WWL-TV reports that the tragic accident occurred just after midnight, Wednesday, in a cul-de-sac on May Laurel Drive in northwest Harris County.

Deputies with the Harris County Sheriff's Office say the woman's name was Philippa Ashford. 

She'd been lighting fireworks with her family when the stray bullet hit her, and authorities say she died on the scene. 

Investigators believe the shot was fired from a significant distance and was likely the result of celebratory gunfire. 

Sgt. Ben Beall said, "I don't know if you can figure out what the odds are, but you got the family together, they're out here celebrating the New Year, and basically the matriarch of the family is now deceased." 

Ashford was an adjunct professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and a nurse, certified in psychiatric care.

Friends say she was affectionally known as "Phil."