Teen hit by truck lived ‘fullest life’
A Christchurch teenager who was fatally struck by a truck on her bike had cycled more than 8000 kilometres around the United States alone.
Fyfa Dawson, 19, was on her way to her barber course when she was hit at a 30kmh roadworks site on Springs Rd, Halswell, about 8am on Wednesday.
Dawson’s aunt, Caryn Dawson, said her niece lived the ‘‘fullest life’’ and had an ‘‘absolute love of cycling’’.
‘‘Her spirit, her passion for life, the way she connected. She was very caring and inclusive, she was just a joy in people’s life.’’
Last year she did two threemonth stints cycling around the US, covering thousands of kilometres, including over the Rocky Mountains.
She funded the trips by working at a fruit and vege shop, her aunt said. ‘‘She comes back and gets killed in Christchurch, it’s shocking. ‘‘If anything, you’d expect something to happen to her while she’s on her own in the US. She pitched a tent on the side of the road; she had a very adventurous spirit.’’
Dawson was biking a 40 minute route between her home in Prebbleton to her barber course in the city.
According to a workman at the scene, Dawson was crossing over the entrance of the work site when the truck driver, who was heading the same way, turned left and hit her.
Signage leading up to the fatal scene warns motorists to take ‘‘extreme care’’ due to cyclists merging and trucks crossing.
There is a fenced gravel cycleway along Springs Rd, which has a break in it at the work site entrance. Dawson was
using the cycleway when she was hit.
Dawson was studying a barbering course at Ara, which she began in February.
In a Facebook post, Ben Scott from Benny’s Barber Shop said Dawson, who he met while tutoring at Ara, was the first female barber at the shop.
Scott said he was ‘‘blown away’’ by how much Dawson had affected the barbershop team in such a short time.
‘‘Tonight we sat round the shop after work and talked about you. There was tears there was laughter. We talked about you and your [quirkiness]. We sat and listened to your favourite song and just remembered the good times with you round.
‘‘We love you Fyfa. You have a special spot in our heart.’’
In a media release issued by Ara in April, Dawson said barbering gave her a ‘‘fascinating’’ insight into how men deal with their emotions.
‘‘It’s such an intimate thing to cut someone’s hair and touching their head and while you do that you can listen, talk and get them to open up to you.
‘‘It was really fascinating and interesting to talk about how men in New Zealand culture deal with their emotions.’’
Ara corporate services deputy chief executive Darren Mitchell said support was being provided to staff and Dawson’s classmates in what was ‘‘a challenging time’’.
‘‘Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of our student who was tragically killed [on Wednesday],’’ he said.
Dawson was a keen table tennis player in her younger years. Between 2011 and 2016, she was one of Table Tennis Canterbury’s top junior girl players and represented Canterbury at national championships.
The organisation posted a tribute to Dawson on their Facebook page yesterday.
‘‘Fyfa was always a shining light with an amazingly bubbly personality. She was a prolific ambassador for our sport as seen in the table tennis What Now video that went nationwide in 2014.
‘‘We will forever miss you Fyfa. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time,’’ the post read.
The police serious crash unit continue to investigate.
The Press understands the truck involved in the crash belonged to Kiwi Concrete, part of Road Metals. Company director Jonny Francis did not respond to a request for comment.