NEW YORK – As she began to think about life without her teenage daughter, Joyce Goddard-Lovelady was overwhelmed with emotion as her voice cracked and tears flowed.
“Kira was a loving child who preferred to spend time with me and her father instead of being on the street with her friends,” said the Bajan mother whose 13-year-old daughter, Kira Goddard, was killed recently in a bizarre vehicular accident on Pacific Street, Brooklyn, New York.
“Parents are not supposed to bury their children but that’s what I have to do now.
But I am holding onto my faith in God.”
Lovelady lived in Mahogany Lane in Bridgetown before coming to the United States in the late 1980s. She worries constantly about people’s children, partly because of her motherly nature and also because it’s her job as a school crossing guard who guides elementary school students across some of Brooklyn’s busiest streets.
“You know, she was in the apartment where I have lived for more than 22 years and she had just gone downstairs with her friends when this accident occurred. She lost her life trying to save their lives,” Lovelady said.
“As she was going through the door, she told me: ‘Mummy, I am coming back soon.’ But that was not to be. I really don’t know how I am going to manage without her.
“She was the kind of person who worried about others. She worried about me, her father, relatives and friends. Now, she is gone. She was always helping people in the building.”
In between sobs, Lovelady prepared to go to Brooklyn’s St Gabriel’s Episcopal Church to finalize arrangements for the funeral service on Friday evening. She recalled their last conversation and how the tragedy turned a family’s fortunes upside down.
“Kira was on the computer trying to get information on the new Crop Over calypso king in Barbados, Popsicle. She said she wanted to see what Popsicle looked like because she thought [his name] was funny. She was really into Crop Over “and was a fan of Red Plastic Bag.
“But when she couldn’t get to see Popsicle, she went outside with her friends and that’s when it all happened,” said the heart-broken mother as Kira’s father, Wesley Bishop, a 59-year-old Bajan construction worker, broke into tears.
“Her father is too emotional right now,” she said. “I understand it, because Kira was very close to him. She was always seeking to ensure that he took his medication (for hypertension). That’s how she was.”
But Lovelady and Bishop aren’t alone in mourning her death.
All across New York City and the nation, news organizations ran stories about the teenager’s heroism, shooing away friends and a sister as an out-of-control SUV bore down on them. But while the others scampered to safety, she couldn’t and was pinned by the car to the front step of the building where she had lived all her life.
“She saved them all,” said Lyn Joseph, 36, a bystander. “She said ‘run, run, run’ to all the other kids because she saw the car coming. And when she went to move out of the way, it was too late.”
Tanisha Harewood, 14, Kira’s older sister on her father’s side, agreed.
“She was a hero. She always looked out after us. If something ever happened to one of us, she always came to help. She saw the car coming down the block and it hit a car and then backed up. She told everyone to run. She had her hand up and was saying ‘stop, stop, stop’ but it was too late.”
Police said the SUV was being driven erratically by Sean Lewis, 44, who had been stabbed in the torso during an argument with man over money. After hitting other vehicles, the SUV flipped and crashed into Kira, killing her instantly.
Investigators said Lewis, who had nine prior arrests for assault, robbery and criminal possession, was trying to get to a hospital for treatment when the accident occurred.
He was pronounced dead at Brookdale Hospital shortly afterwards.
Along Pacific Street, people who knew the girl spoke in glowing terms about her caring nature, saying they weren’t surprised she died saving her friends.
“That was like her,” said Diane Jordan.
Little wonder, then, that neighbours arranged a makeshift memorial, with candles, flowers and teddy bears for Kira who was born in New York.
“I will have my memories. My daughter always said she wanted to be a doctor so she could help people,” Lovelady said. “She told us recently that she wanted to go to school in Barbados for a while and then return to New York. She enjoyed Barbados.”
Ironically, Kira’s last trips to Barbados were to attend funerals, one for a grandfather and another for a grandmother.
“She was an incredible person,” said her mother.
“What a pity she didn’t have a chance to live longer. But the way she died wasn’t surprising to us because she always wanted to help her friends.”
