Francine (or “Cine” as we called her) was a very loving daughter, sister, mother and girlfriend. Cine was the oldest of five kids, with two younger brothers and two younger sisters. She was a kind person who always wanted to help others and keep the peace between everyone. She always put a smile on people’s faces with her presence. My daughter, Cine, had two beautiful babies, Dominic and Kylee, who were born four months before she left us.

Cine was 19 years old when she was killed. She was into animé and loved to draw. She was very ambitious and dreamed of owning her own café or bakery, always wanting to cook or bake creative desserts.

It was Sunday, September 1, 2013 when my children and I went to visit my mother because she was moving to California the next morning. I left my mom’s place minutes before Francine decided to leave. Her boyfriend had driven her over there with their twin babies to say goodbye to Francine’s grandmother and great-grandma. On their way home, Francine’s boyfriend fell asleep at the wheel. The car drove into a wall, with the impact on the passenger side where Francine was sitting. She had a really bad head injury and didn’t make it to the hospital.

I got a call from my mother an hour after the crash saying that Francine was in a car accident and the twins were being flown to the hospital. My boyfriend and I drove up to the hospital to see if the twins were OK. About 30 minutes later, I got a call from a different hospital telling me where my daughter Francine was. I drove there and a nurse took me to a room. She asked if I was her mother, and I said yes. She then told me that Cine had not made it through the car crash.

I was devastated. I went home that night and gathered the rest of my children in a room. I told them what happened to their older sister, and we all sat there in silence. Then we began to cry. I did not want to be home or anywhere except someplace where I could see Francine again. Later that night, we decided to stay at a hotel to comfort each other. We then told everybody close to Francine the news and went to bed.

Every day for that entire month I was so depressed and would just cry all day. My children were sad about it, too, but it seemed as if I couldn’t let it go as easily as them. Every time I heard her name I would remember all of the great memories, but it only made me sadder. I remember my children telling me they had something exciting to tell Francine, but then they’d remember that she was gone. It took us all a great amount of time to accept what happened to Cine. We will never forget her. She will always be loved and cherished by our family and her friends.