Family mourn ‘cheeky’ teen
When Kayla Hollis heard the tragic news that her ‘‘baby brother’’ had died in a car crash, she worried he had died alone.
Kyle Love, 19, died in a two-car crash on SH3 near Waitara on Friday evening.
‘‘That is probably the scariest thing to think about, is your baby brother in a car by himself, injured.’’
But a woman had been with him when he died, she said.
‘‘She held him until he passed away. That provided a sense of relief, knowing that someone was there.
‘‘She didn’t have to go over to the car and she didn’t have to hold him.
‘‘I’m hopeful that we can meet her and hopefully bring her some peace as well... We’ve really got to go and see her and just say thank you. It’s almost like a shared experience.’’
Kayla and sister Alicia Love remember their brother as a cheeky ‘‘smart-arse’’ who loved cars and hanging out with his friends, and was a doting uncle to his several nephews and niece.
‘‘He just loved them all so much, loved getting them playing basketball.
‘‘He could make a room laugh, that’s for sure.’’
Kayla’s favourite memories are of Kyle with her two young sons. ‘‘Our boys always remember Uncle Kyle. We could always see they brought out the real innocent side of him.
‘‘Because he was the baby and we all played such a significant role in him growing up we were always a bit protective of him.’’
Alicia said they were ‘‘so proud’’ to see him growing up and making his way in the world.
The family had been disconnected until Kyle moved to Taranaki and lived with his cousin, Tyrese Aldridge, three years ago.
It united the family, and the connection strengthened when Tyrese’s brother Cheyden took his own life in November 2016.
The day after the crash, Kyle and a group of his mates had planned to get semi-colon tattoos, in memory of Cheyden and to raise awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.
Kyle’s funeral will be held at Abraham’s Funeral Home at 2pm today, followed by a private cremation.
‘‘Saying goodbye tomorrow will be one of the hardest days of my life,’’ Alicia said yesterday.
Kayla, who is heavily pregnant, said seeing him on Tuesday made it start to sink in and ‘‘you restart grieving’’.
‘‘I keep thinking how different it’s going to be at Christmas and his birthday, all those times that families come together.
‘‘I’m due in four weeks and he’s not going to meet his niece.’’
But his memory will always be kept alive, Alicia said.
‘‘We’ll never let our children not know who their Uncle Kyle is. He’ll always be talked about.’’