Community mourns ‘a special little girl’
Service celebrates life of Amirah Kinlaw, 9, fatally struck by a stolen SUV
Amirah Kinlaw, the 9-year-old girl fatally struck by a stolen SUV driven by a 14-year-old boy earlier this month, was laid to rest Saturday in a white dress and tiara, inside a light pink coffin.
At her funeral service at the Grace Bible Baptist Church in Catonsville, mourners, including children barely tall enough to see into the casket, filed past the coffin to view her and pay their last respects. Amirah’s parents stood silently, holding each other and staring at her round face one last time before removing a thin netting that covered her face and closing the casket.
Kinlaw, a third-grader at Steuart Hill Academic Academy, was leaving school on June 16 when she was struck by a stolen Jeep Liberty driven by the teenage boy. The driver has not been publicly identified because he is being charged as a juvenile. He faces vehicular manslaughter, auto theft and traffic violation charges.
Minister Lewis Lambert led the service “to celebrate the life of Amirah” with his powerful voice, which at times had mourners out of their seats and responding with loud applause.
Lambert said he did not know Amirah before her death but “she touched my heart because it could’ve been my daughter.”
On the day Amirah was killed, residents near the school had called police to report a suspicious Jeep circling the neighborhood. An officer on patrol passed the SUV in the 300 block of S. Gilmor St. and activated her lights in an attempt to pull it over.
The Jeep sped off and the officer did not pursue it, police said. The SUV barreled through a red light at Lombard Street, struck a Nissan Sentra and other cars, brushed a crossing guard, and hit Amirah, police said.
Just two blocks away, Tom Homans was expecting Amirah at an after-school program at the Christian Community Center on Hollins Street when he heard a loud, terrible sound.
“It just crushed us” after learning that Amirah was killed in the crash, he said at her funeral service Saturday.
“She touched so many lives at such a young age,” he said. Homans described the girl as “sweet, pleasant, polite. As nice as you can imagine.” He spoke of her deep religious beliefs. Homans, who is the director of the community center, said that because Amirah was so bright and interested in Bible study, she was one of two girls invited to attend a Wednesday night Bible study intended for teenagers. Amirah attended regularly, including the night before she was killed.
Amirah never misbehaved, he said. Occasionally, though, her laughter would be a welcome interruption.
“She got the giggles,” he said with a smile.
Homans tried to comfort Amirah’s family and others who cried during the service, including parents who hugged their children tight.
“She is in a better place,” he said. “She was truly unique … a special little girl I will never forget.”
Many teachers and staff at Amirah’s elementary school attended the service, including the principal, Tanyaneka Lipscomb. She and a student presented Amirah’s family with an end-of-the-year trophy, which is awarded to the student who received the most stickers for academic achievements collected throughout the school year. Amirah had 662 stickers, but after she died, her classmates donated their stickers so that she would receive the end-of-the-year award.
Leon Carter, Amirah’s stepfather, spoke briefly, recalling how each morning he would wake her up and walk her to school.
“She was my everything,” Carter said at the end of the service. She also taught him to appreciate life because even “five minutes ain’t guaranteed to nobody.”
Though her death has been difficult for the family, Carter said he is comforted when he thinks of her smile and her giggle.
“She introduced me to what love really is,” he said.