Friends gather at vigil for teen killed in Warwick crash

It's all in the memory of Lynch who was just 19-years-old.

WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) – Dozens of people are mourning the loss of Michaela Lynch who was killed in a car crash in Warwick Sunday night.

Teal balloons and images of butterflies filled the air in Warwick Tuesday night as her friends hosted a vigil to remember her.

“I always associated Michaela as my little butterfly because that’s how she was. She just fluttered into people’s lives and made it better no matter who they were,” said her friend Ashlyn Williams.

It’s all in the memory of Lynch who was just 19-years-old.

“Just the fact that her friends and the community took the time to organize this, bring flowers, balloons, write nice things, it just means the world to us,” said her sister Halee Peloso.

Lynch’s friends organized the vigil in her memory. She had only just graduated from Toll Gate High School, and was working towards a career in cosmetology.

“Everybody needs to talk about how happy Michaela was, how many happy moments we’ve all had with her,” said her friend Deanna Constantine. “She was awesome to be around. No matter what she lit up the room!”

Her friends say they wanted to create a space for people to grieve someone who had always been there for them.

“She taught me how to enjoy life no matter what I’m doing. She taught me how to be treated. She was there through a lot of our pains,” said Constantine.

Dozens from the community wrote messages to Lynch on a poster, and lit candles in her honor. Her friends say the candles show that she is still with them – burning bright.

“I want people to know that she was unlike any other person that I’ve ever met in my life. She was one of the most cheerful people I’ve ever met in my life,” said Williams. “Whenever I had a problem, whenever anybody here had a problem, she was right there.”

Friends are hoping to give the posters that people have signed to her family so they’ll always know how many lives she touched.

“It’s really nice to know that she impacted a lot of people,” said her sister Karlie Lynch.