‘It hurts a lot,’ says family of Sudbury teen killed in collision

Grace Ranger is remembered as loving and high-spirited after a fatal New Sudbury crash earlier this month. Her sister mourns a lost birthday visit.

Grace Ranger, who was killed in a collision April 16 in Greater Sudbury, was just shy of her 17th birthday, an event she planned to share with her family on Manitoulin Island.

Her family is still dealing with the shock of her sudden death, which took place on a foggy evening on Westmount Avenue.

“It hurts a lot today,” her sister, Nikina Ranger, told CTV News.

“Today, it was the day she was coming to visit me, and we were going to have our birthdays together … We were going to celebrate it together for the first time.

Nikina said her sister was outgoing and kind. Her obituary describes Grace as “loving and high-spirited, bright, kind and a vibrant soul.”

“She was in Grade 10 going to Lasalle Secondary School,” Nikina said.

“She was very outgoing. She had a very big heart. Like she wanted to make everyone feel welcome and cared for.”

She adds that Grace loved anime, playing the virtual reality game Roblox and watching Love Island.

“She had a lot of dreams,” Nikina said.

“There were so many things that she wanted to do career-wise. She was trying to figure that out herself. So she was taking the space and time to do all that. She was getting back into her tradition, going to ceremonies all sorts of stuff.”

Grace is currently resting at the Rabbit Island Community Centre in Wiikwemkoong. A traditional service taking place there April 25 at 11 a.m.

Nikina said a memorial has also been set up at the crash site and the family hopes to hold a memorial event there each year on the anniversary of the crash.

Greater Sudbury police said that the investigation is ongoing and there is no new information at this time.

Nikina said the family wants the community to know that they don’t blame the driver, because it was foggy when the collision occurred.

Nikina’s friend has set up a GoFundMe for the family to help cover the costs associated with the funeral.

She said they deeply appreciate everyone’s donations so far. The goal is $15,000 with over $3,750 already raised.