Maple Ridge Times April 26 2011

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Tuesday, April 26, 2011 Home school theatre celebrates Dr. Seuss.

Page A18

ary Annivers 1985-2010

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Friends gathered at a memorial for Eleni Isacu, who died in a single-car crash on Lougheed Highway and 203rd Street in the early hours of Friday morning. Flowers, candles, and pictures (inset) were left at the memorial.

Nick Procaylo/Postmedia

Fatal accident

Crash claims life of Pitt Meadows teen

A memorial site where a 19year-old lost her life late last week sprung up quickly.

Eleni Isacu, 19, of Pitt Meadows died at the scene Friday morning after her car veered off the road and slammed into a pillar at the 203rd Street shopping mall by Tim Hortons. There were no other cars involved and Isacu was alone in the car at the time of the accident at 3:24 a.m. on April 22. The 1988 Honda was travelling westbound on the Lougheed

when it lost control and hit a cement pillar at an entrance to the shopping mall. Ridge Meadows RCMP Traffic Services and the RCMP Lower Mainland Integrated Collision Analyst and Reconstruction Services are investigating the fatal crash. The westbound lanes of Lougheed Highway were closed for six hours after the crash while police investigated what happened. Friend Kelsey Simpson, 20, arrived at the accident scene Saturday with friends to lay flowers and say a prayer. Simpson worked with Isacu

at a local McDonald’s and the two also went to Pitt Meadows Secondary. “She was always smiling and made you happy,” said Simpson of Isacu. “She was such a brilliant, wonderful young woman.” Friends of Isacu cast doubt on reports she might have been using her cellphone at the time of the accident. Simpson said she doubts her friend would have been texting or talking on her phone while driving. “She was such a smart girl,” said Simpson. “She wouldn’t have been driving and texting.”

Another friend, Nadia Hamze, 20, said Isacu was loved by everyone. “It was never dull with her,” she said. “She made even doing nothing fun.” Diane Linde said they won’t forget their friend. “We will miss her forever and we will always be thinking about her.” Barb Sharpe is a neighbour of the family and said people in the tight-knit community are devastated. “She was a childhood friend and it is a very difficult time right now for everyone,” she said. Family members said it was

too early to discuss the tragedy and asked for privacy. Isacu was a member of the Vancouver All Stars cheerleading team. Tributes by other cheerleading teams have been posted on various social media sites. “She was a beautiful girl who touched so many with her kindness,” wrote one cheerleader on Facebook. RCMP are not commenting on the cause of the accident, but do indicate speed appears to have been a factor. Postmedia Network, Inc.

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Don’t miss important information from the City of Pitt Meadows on Page A6 and A13


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