Hundreds of people gathered in Suffield on Saturday for a vigil to remember the life of a teenager who tragically lost her life in an accident days earlier.
State police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash that brought traffic to a standstill in Windsor on Thursday night.
Reverend Bridget Fidler of First Church of Christ in Suffield says she learned the morning after the accident that it claimed the life of Brianna Mailloux, one of her own parishioners.
“Your heart feels like it’s suddenly made out of cement,” Fidler said.
Over three hundred classmates, friends and their families packed her church for Saturday’s vigil in memory of Mailloux.
Fidler described the teen as an intelligent young woman who cared deeply about how people treat one another. She remembers Mailloux as being protective of her younger sisters and working hard to set a good a example for them.
Mailloux was a senior in high school just months shy of graduation. She attended both the Greater Hartford Math and Science Academy and Suffield High School where students lit candles and wrote messages for their friend in a memorial set up outside. A lacrosse stick was also laid alongside flowers in memory of the athlete who loved the game.
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Fidler says she knows many members of the Suffield community are still in shock. In her remarks at the vigil, Fidler asked that they focus on supporting one another and the Mailloux family. “It's not about asking why, it's really about how we can help each other get through it,” Fidler said.
She added that she and grief counselors with the Suffield school district will continue to be available for those who need a safe space to talk. A formal service celebrating Mailloux’s life is being planned for later this week.
