By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A YOUNG mother-of-four was killed in a traffic accident on Eleuthera over the holiday weekend, leaving her family and friends devastated.

Police said 28-year-old Codie Stuart Lightfoot was travelling on Queen’s Highway shortly after 7am on Sunday when her vehicle struck a tree. Responding officers found an unresponsive woman lying outside the car. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The incident was one of two traffic fatalities reported over the weekend.

Her mother, Joycaster Neymour Lightfoot, said she was in Orlando, Florida, with three of Codie’s four daughters when she received the heartbreaking news.

“I got a call from her sister’s phone, but when I answered, it was her father,” Ms Lightfoot recalled. “He said, ‘Joey, are you sitting down?’ I said, ‘What happened?’ He told me, ‘Codie dead.’ I screamed so loud until my father asked me what happened. I said, ‘Codie.’”

She said the moment was especially difficult because three of Codie’s daughters were with her at the time. Her daughters are aged nine, seven, five, and two.

“The oldest screamed, ‘Grammy, what happened to my mommy?’ I couldn’t tell her,” she said. “I didn’t want to ruin their vacation, but I had to tell them eventually. They cried and cried.”

Codie had initially planned to travel with her family but chose instead to remain in Eleuthera to continue working and prepare for the upcoming school year.

“She loved her girls more than anything,” Ms Lightfoot said. “She would make sacrifices just so they could experience the best things in life.”

The grieving mother described her daughter as vibrant, industrious, and deeply committed to maintaining close family relationships.

“She was our only daughter and the oldest of four children,” Ms Lightfoot said. “She nurtured her younger brothers, cheered for them, and showed up for every important milestone in their lives.”

She said the 28-year-old grew up under her grandparents, but graduated from R M Bailey Senior High School in 2014 before relocating to Eleuthera, where her father and sisters live. According to her family, Codie made the move in search of better job opportunities and to reconnect with her paternal roots.

“What I will miss most are our conversations about hairstyles, makeup tips, outfit checks, and our heart-to-hearts about life and love,” her mother said, adding that her memory will live on through her children.

Sunday’s crash is the latest in a series of fatal accidents on Queen’s Highway, prompting renewed calls from residents for improved signage, better road maintenance, and stricter speed limit enforcement.

Codie’s death also came just two days after another fatal traffic incident in New Providence. Police said a 36-year-old male motorcyclist died on Friday after a collision involving two vehicles on Carmichael Road near Edmonton Lane. Officers arrived shortly after 6pm and found the victim lying unresponsive on the roadway.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.