By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

SHAQUELL Roberts was looking forward to seeing her eldest daughter graduate next year — a milestone her own mother never lived to witness — before her life was cut short in a violent car crash on Monday.

Thirty-four-year-old Roberts, a mother of two girls, was reportedly heading home on a break from work when her black Honda Accord collided with a Honda Stepwagon travelling in the opposite direction on Western Road.

Police said officers arrived shortly after 2pm and found the Stepwagon with extensive front-end damage and the Accord overturned, with Roberts partially ejected and drifting in and out of consciousness. She later died in the hospital. The Stepwagon’s driver and passenger suffered minor injuries.

Her stepsister, Felicia Russell, who lives in Grand Bahama, said she was on the road when another sister called with the news.

“I just stopped the car on the side of the road, and I had to pause because I started having a little sharp pain because we talked all Sunday night, and I just see her,” she said.

Ms Russell said the two, who grew up together and were close, had just spent the weekend celebrating at a cousin’s wedding. Their final conversation, she said, was about their childhood — going to church together — and their shared plan to deepen their spiritual journey.

“We just was talking about only what we do for Christ will last,” she said. “If we knew it would’ve been her last, I would’ve stayed on the phone or I might have even stayed in Nassau.”

She described Roberts as ambitious and full of energy. Roberts worked at Bahamas Power and Light and also ran several side businesses, including a cleaning service, a nail salon, and a clothing and hair product business.

“I always used to tell her ‘Girl, you trying to take the world over all at once’ because she just want to do everything,” Ms Russell said. She added that the family is devastated, especially Roberts’ two daughters.

The older child, set to graduate next year, is struggling with the loss, while the younger daughter keeps crying and asking for her mother.

“When she be talking about Laura, that’s the oldest one, she said when Laura comes out of school, she wants her to go to college. She used to tell her make something out of yourself,” Ms Russell said.

Roberts, who lost both parents at an early age, often spoke about wanting to watch her daughters grow into adulthood. Ms Russell said the family intends to honour that hope by supporting the children and ensuring they have every opportunity she wanted for them.

This is the second traffic fatality reported this week and the 62nd this year, according to The Tribune’s records.