Brookswood Secondary student Lidia Ramos was supposed to celebrate her 16th birthday this week.
Instead, her family and friends are mourning her death in a car crash near Mission early Sunday morning.
Lidia, who was in Grade 10, had told her parents she was sleeping over at a friend’s house but instead had gone that night to a bonfire party off a logging road in Mission.
Mission RCMP said around 1 a.m., four young people were driving back from the bonfire along switchback roads during a heavy rainstorm. Lidia was riding in the backseat of the 1999 Nissan Sentra. There were three young men in the vehicle with her.
The driver, a 21-year-old Langley man, lost control on the muddy turns coming down the road. The vehicle slid 15 feet down an embankment and came to rest on its passenger side, with the roof against a tree, said Mission RCMP.
Both the driver and the front-seat passenger, a 19-year-old man from Surrey, were taken to hospital with upper body injuries and both were released from hospital.
Lidia, who was sitting behind the driver, died at the scene, said police.
The 16-year-old Langley boy sitting beside her — thought to be Lidia’s boyfriend — remains in a coma, in critical condition.
On the weekend police said speed may have played a role. Mission RCMP said they have spoken to the driver but the investigation continues.
The weather that evening was so bad that the Air Ambulance was unable to land near the scene of the crash.
It was raining heavily and the roads were slick.
Lidia was one of six children in the Ramos family.
Her sister, Rosita, described her as a ‘beautiful angel, gone too soon.’
Her mother is calling on all drivers to slow down and think of their passengers.
“There is no need to speed. No one wants to lose their child or sibling,” said Angela Ramos.
On Monday, a room had been set up at Brookswood Secondary where students could come to remember Lidia.
The school district has made counsellors available for students to speak with.
Friends of the Ramos family, Shelby DeLisle and Brandy Minch started a gofundme account to help ease the family’s financial burden. Nearly $7,000 had been raised by Tuesday morning to help cover funeral costs.
“She was a sweet girl taken too soon,” wrote DeLisle on the gofund page.
“She was a sweet, caring, funny little girl who never forgot to say hi and give you a hug no matter how many times you saw her.”
All funds raised will be used to pay for Lidia’s funeral. Anything left over will go to the family.
Rosita said her family is one of faith and they know their angel is in heaven now.
There will be a viewing on March 14 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Henderson Funeral Home.
The Ramos family invites anyone who would like to attend a mass and ceremony on March 15 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.
A candlelight vigil will be held at City Park at 6 p.m. on March 11, the day that would have been Lidia’s 16th birthday.
For more information, people can email beautifulshelby@gmail.com or bminch@shaw.ca.