A 16-year-old woman who was killed in a sleigh accident in upstate New York has died while protecting her 3-year-old cousin in the tragic accident, according to reports.
Renee Hill, a high school student at Niagara Wheatfield High School, and her cousin were walking up a hill in a sledge tube at Clyde L. Burmaster Park in Lewiston when they hit a tree Saturday at 10 a.m., officials said.
They were transported by ambulance to Oishei Children’s Hospital, where Renee was pronounced dead, WIVB reported. The boy was treated and released.
Renee’s mother, Alexis Kraft, described how the tragedy unfolded – and how her daughter’s “first instinct” was to save her cousin.
“He had come down the hill. She had my 3-year-old nephew with her. He saw the tree coming. Her first instinct was to put her foot down and roll over the sleigh so that my nephew would not be hurt. He hit the tree. Her heart stopped on the way to the hospital, “Kraft told WKBW.
“Everyone calls her a hero. But this was my child, “she added. “She was our whole world.”
Renee, described as a “mother teddy bear,” was the eldest of four children.
“She was definitely a bearish mother. She could put them in line quickly, but she was loving and everyone loved her “, said her mother.
“Everyone loved her,” the girl’s father, Richard Hill, told WKBW.
Renee’s coach, Joe Kiszka, said the teenager was a strong and quiet leader, whom he feared on the field, but was an absolute lover.
“All her parents and all the other girls on the team called her a beast because, once she got to the field, she would have a hard time,” her mother added.
Renee’s parents thanked the community for their support after the loss of their daughter.
“Don’t agree with your babies for a minute. Tell them you love them. Every minute. Every chance you have, ”Kraft said.
A GoFundMe fundraiser has so far raised more than $ 20,000 from its $ 25,000 goal to help the family.