A teenager who was hit by trailer being towed by a ute and later died has been remembered by her heartbroken dad as a talented artist who dreamed of visiting Japan.
Emergency services were called to the Bruxner Highway at East Lismore in northern NSW last Wednesday afternoon, following reports a pedestrian had been hit by a trailer.
Bystanders and passing motorists stopped and gave first aid to Alysha Martin, 16, until paramedics arrived.
She was rushed to Lismore Base Hospital where she later died.
‘Alysha was such a beautiful girl and has touched the lives of so many people,’ her father, Key Martin told Daily Mail Australia.
‘She was a natural magnet for people. She was a great artist and going to Japan was her dream.’
Family friend Hilde Thurgate has set up a GoFundMe to help Alysha’s grieving family with funeral arrangements and cover living expenses while they grieve and adjust to life without her.
‘Life can change in a split second,’ she wrote.
A teenage girl who was hit by a vehicle and later died in northern New South Wales on Wednesday has been identified as Alysha Martin (pictured)
‘This has absolutely destroyed her family and so many in our community who knew and loved her,’ Ms Thurgate said.
‘All our love is behind her family, her parents, siblings and her friends.’
More than $7,200 has been raised within a few days.
Rachel June revealed on a community social media page that Alysha was the daughter of her colleague and friend Mr Martin.
‘Kye is a single dad who has raised his two girls alone for many years, has worked hard as a single dad to build a life for his girls,’ she wrote.
‘He works in the community sector supporting and sustaining housing for the community’s most vulnerable.’
She described her colleague as ‘a ray of sunlight, a truly amazing man and the most devoted father’.
Ms June added that the community is ‘absolutely gutted … by this senseless loss and at a loss of how to support him’.
Northern Rivers Shukokai Karate Dojo club also shared a heartfelt tribute
‘Kye now faces the formidable task of being the sole provider for his family whilst navigating the trauma that is the loss of a child,’ she said.
She asked that people consider donating to the fundraiser if they could ‘as there has never been a cause more deserving’.
Mr Martin said he is looking to find ‘a good street artist that can do a memorial piece for my daughter’.
He wrote on Facebook that Alysha ‘loved art and it was her biggest passion in life, she loved Japanese anime’.
The teen was also remembered by the Northern Rivers Shukokai Karate Dojo club.
In a Facebook post, the club said it had ‘received the devastating news that Alysha, a former student and big sister of Nahla, a current student, was tragically killed Wednesday night.
Emergency services were called to the Bruxner Highway (pictured) in East Lismore last Wednesday, following reports a pedestrian had been hit by a ute trailer
‘Our hearts go out to dad Kye and sister Nahla.’
The male ute driver, 42, was taken to Lismore Base Hospital for mandatory testing on Wednesday.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Police investigations continue.
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