Heartbreaking tributes to teenage girl hit and killed by a ute trailer on the Bruxner Highway, East Lismore
A teenage girl who was hit and later killed by a trailer pulled by a pickup truck is being remembered by her grieving father as a talented artist who dreamed of visiting Japan.
Emergency services were called to the Bruxner Highway near East Lismore in northern New South Wales on Wednesday afternoon after reports of a pedestrian being struck by a trailer.
Bystanders and passing motorists stopped and administered first aid to Alysha Martin, 16, until emergency services arrived.
She was rushed to Lismore Base Hospital, where she later died.
“Alysha was such a beautiful girl and touched so many people’s lives,” her heartbroken father Kye Martin told Daily Mail Australia on Sunday night.
“She was a natural magnet for people. She was a great artist and going to Japan was her dream.”
Family friend Hilde Thurgate has a GoFundMe to help Alysha’s grieving family with funeral expenses and to cover living expenses as they grieve and adjust to life without her.
“Life can change in a split second,” she wrote.
A teenage girl who was struck and later died by a vehicle in northern New South Wales on Wednesday has been identified as Alysha Martin (pictured)
“This has completely devastated her family and the people in our community who knew and loved her,” Ms Thurgate said.
“All our love goes out to her family, her parents, siblings and her friends.”
In just a few days, more than $7,200 has been raised.
Rachel June revealed on the community’s social media page that Alysha is the daughter of her colleague and friend Mr. Martin.
“Kye is a single father who has raised his two daughters alone for many years. He has worked hard as a single father to build a life for his daughters,” she wrote.
‘He works in the community sector, supporting and maintaining housing for the most vulnerable in the community.’
She described her colleague as “a ray of sunshine, a truly wonderful man and a very devoted father.”
Ms June added that the community is ‘completely shocked… by this senseless loss and does not know how to support him’.
Northern Rivers Shukokai Karate Dojo club also shared a heartfelt tribute
“Kye now faces the daunting task of being the sole breadwinner for his family, while also dealing with the trauma of losing a child,” she said.
She asked people to consider donating to the fundraiser if they can, “as there has never been a better cause.”
Mr Martin said he is looking for ‘a good street artist who can make a memorial for my daughter’.
He wrote on Facebook that Alysha “loved art and it was her biggest passion in life, she loved Japanese anime.”
The teenager 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 to Nahla, a current student, tragically passed away on Wednesday evening.
Emergency services were called to the Bruxner Highway (pictured) in East Lismore last Wednesday after reports of a pedestrian being hit by a van.
‘Our thoughts go out to father Kye and sister Nahla.’
The 42-year-old male driver of the van was taken to Lismore Base Hospital on Wednesday for mandatory tests.
A report is being prepared for the coroner.
The police investigation is still ongoing.