Elif Kaya.
Devastation: A 16-year-old “beautiful angel” girl has died in a car crash in Woodford, while her sister is fighting for her life.
Top of her class, Elif Kaya was an aspiring barrister… until a clash between a Mini Cooper and a BMW on Chigwell Road, south Woodford, just after 1am on Saturday, changed everything: She passed away, in the passenger seat, shortly after the collision, leaving a family and loved ones behind, and a sister who is currently fighting for her life.
Melike Kaya, her 19-year-old sister (a university student), has been left fighting for her life; she is due to have her third operation to or tomorrow, whenever doctors deem her condition to be ‘stable’.
Their friend, Ayla Osman (21), has been reported as ‘Stable’.
The male driver of the BMW is being treated for head injuries.
According to witnesses, the crash sent the Mini Cooper flying over an 3ft wall, into a tree. Passers-by rushed to their aid.
“She was an angel. She was a lovely daughter. She wanted to be a barrister and was doing so well.
“Only just last week one of her teachers took her to court for a visit, and when she came back, she said ‘mum, I want to be a barrister’.
“And last time I picked her up from college she had got a B in something, and she said, ‘mum, I need to get an A and work harder’, and she went straight to her room to study,” Her Mother Demet Kaya, 36, told the standard.
She added:“This is just so unfair. She was a very fair child, very confident and strong character. She was so intelligent and worked very hard. She knew what she wanted to do and was more mature than her years.
“Another day she had said, ‘mum and dad, I promise you’re going to see my picture on the school wall for being one of the good kids’, and she achieved it [for her grades]. She was so open-minded and intelligent.”
Her Father Nevzat Kaya, 43, speaking to the Standard, said, “She was caring, sociable, so very very polite to her mum and dad and very protective of her family, friends and sisters. She had so many friends. She was a very very popular girl and so beautiful.
“She was a very free spirit. She was so brave and smiley, we are just so shocked. Melia is now stable and we just want her back home. Thank God she’s getting better.”
Witnesses spoke of the horrific crash, saying it created a large bang, sending a few people into shock.
Speaking to the Standard, Mechanic Pete Rippon, 28, witness to the crash, said: “I heard a massive smash, I got up to see what the noise was and I saw a mini that had flipped up over the wall and hit a tree.
“I just quickly called an ambulance, I think I must have been one of the first to call, and it took them about 10 minutes to get here. Within a couple of minutes about 10 young people from the estate surrounded the car and tried to get the people out of the car.”
Currently, no arrests have been made; but the transport police and detectives are investigating the collision and are appealing to witnesses.