The year 2009 is gone but not forgotten, and neither are the tragic accidents that made the year one of the worst in terms of road accidents. Those affected the most appeared to be young people.

An accident on November 21, that claimed Amya Nicholas and her nanny Sharon Mathurin caught the attention of the public as Nicholas, who was on her way to church, was only five-years-old.

In a follow up story after the accident, the STAR ran a story entitled, Strength in Tragedy: Mom of accident victim set to graduate and the comments came flowing in from readers who felt that Amya’s mother, 22-year-old Trishia Montoute should go ahead with her graduation from Sir Arthur Lewis Community College.

The condolences came rolling in and once reader wrote: “I think you should attend your graduation ceremony. Despite the fact that you’ve lost your little girl, it’s a moment in time when you can feel proud of your achievements, having being denied the opportunity once. Your princess will be watching over you and she will be proud.”

On Sunday, November 28 2009, Trishia went through with her graduation ceremony. The young woman recently spoke with the STAR and said she was glad she did. As for dealing with the tragic loss of her daughter, it had only been two months and Trishia still had a long way to go.

“I don’t know,” said Trishia, in terms of how she was coping. “Friends and family have been there. I go to work. I do everything because I have to. The reality is, I haven’t really accepted it yet. I’m still waiting for it to hit. Sometimes I wake up crying . . . when I see children in uniform from her old school it really hurts.”

Family and friends came together for the family, as people do in hard times and for that reason, the family, parents and grandparents of Amya Patrice Marguerite Nicholas wished to express thanks to all who sympathized, sent out cards and flowers and attended the funeral service on December 3, “in memory of an angel whose life was cut off much too soon as a result of a tragic car crash.”

The list of people who the family wished to recognize included the principal, teachers and staff of the Carmen Renee Memorial School and the HECDEC pre-school, and particularly, Deborah Bushell for putting together a choir at such short notice.

Amya’s family had words of praise for Father Michel Francis, Father Theo Joseph of New York, Telita Samuel, Sylvia Cadasse, Monica Jn Charles, Andrea Poyotte, Beverly Leonce, Cousin Nox and Agatha Jn Panel, Joan Dixon Dudley and Kim St Rose. The efforts of Hyacinth, Bernadette and Rita in providing a quantity of flowers were not forgotten. Amya’s family also had praise for the staff of St Jude hospital, the Fire and Emergency Unit of Vieux Fort, Fletchers Touring Service, media houses on the island, including STAR Publishing and special friends Juliana Charles, Ingrid Adolph, Minelle Smith and Chantelle Faucher.

“Amya’s cheerfulness, smile, and laughter will always live on in our memory,” the family wrote in a thank you letter. “Precious Amya, you are gone but you will never be forgotten.”