'Her light was extinguished too soon,' say parents of fatally struck Western student
CBC
The parents of the 21-year-old woman who was killed in a fatal collision near her townhouse building on Western Road on Monday described her as a gatherer of friends and a lover of life.
"It would be so uplifting to be around her because she was such a positive kid with a cup-half full and 'don't sweat the small stuff' mentality," said Maija Nenonen's father, Michael.
Originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Nenonen was a first-year Honours Business Administration student at the Ivey School of Business at Western University. Her parents told CBC News that she was on her way to the library to study for the exams she had that week when she was fatally struck.
"My wife texted her that morning to wish her luck on her exam, and what went through my mind was that 'This is a nightmare that I'm going to be waking up from.' It was surreal," Michael Nenonen said about the moment when he heard about his daughter's death.
Emergency crews were called to 974 Western Road to the area of a townhouse-style student rental building, east of Platt's Lane, shortly after 1 p.m. Monday after reports of a woman struck by a vehicle.
Nenonen was pronounced dead when emergency crews arrived. Police say the driver of the vehicle remained on the scene.
The young woman's mother, Pina, said her daughter's friends referred to her as a 'shining light' with a goofy sense of humour who made friends everywhere she went and acted as a bridge to her different friends groups.
"I was told by her friends that because Maija was the bridge that brought them into each others' lives that they had to maintain their friendship to honour her ... She was a good friend," Pina Nenonen said.
Nenonen wanted to pursue a business career and recently got an internship at Bell Canada in Toronto. Her parents were supposed to visit her on Easter weekend to help relocate her to the city.
"She often talked about wanting a family, this was probably the biggest goal in her life, really, and that's obviously no longer going to happen," her dad said.
He added that Western has gone above and beyond to support their their family in this time of tragedy and he's proud that his daughter is so loved by the community.
"She will be missed. We're broken and at a loss of her potential and dreams. She dreamt big and I'm sad to see that her light was extinguished way too soon," said Pina.
Nenonen is survived by her parents Michael and Pina and her older brother Mika.
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