‘She just had a light and energy about her’: B.C. family remembers child killed by hit-and-run driver

Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic death of six-year-old Jayla Chang, killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking with her family.

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Jayla Chang was a curious, funny, expressive six-year-old.

Home videos show she was the kind of kid who danced anywhere, anytime.

And she had a spark that’s difficult to define.

“She just had a light and energy about her,” remembered her dad, James Chang.

“Just a really big personality in a small person,” he added.

Monday marks a painful year since Jayla was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in Surrey while on a walk with her family.

“I just feel our world has been shattered. You just think, ‘How could it happen to us?’” said Jayla’s mom, Jennifer Ikeda, in an interview with CTV News.

“There’s hard days and harder days. You can kind of go into autopilot and find a piece of yourself, but it’s this void that…never leaves you,” explained Jayla’s dad.

Two of their other children were also injured in the horrific incident.

“Physically, they’re okay. They healed, but emotionally, emotionally it’s been extremely difficult,” said James Chang.

Shortly after the hit-and-run, a suspect was arrested in Surrey and released without charges. At the time, police said alcohol may have been a contributing factor.

In an email, a spokesperson for the Surrey Police Service said what happened to Jayla remains under investigation, and the case a top priority for the major crime unit.

“Investigators have made copious efforts interviewing witnesses, reviewing CCTV footage, and analyzing data obtained through the investigation,” the email said.

Still, no one has been charged.

“There should be justice for Jayla. This whole process has been extremely difficult and long,” the grieving father said.

Jayla’s parents regularly visit a memorial for their daughter.

Her dad goes almost daily.

“It helps me continue the day,” he said.

Sometimes Chang brings flowers to the site. Almost always he brings origami.

“We would make origami stuff together, so I make her a little paper rose whenever I come by,” he said.

Two jars at the memorial are filled with the tiny roses. There are also photos, flowers and stuffies.

Jayla’s mom said her daughter loved collecting things.

“She’d collect everything from rocks, shells, stickers, erasers,” remembered Ikeda of the baby of their family. “We called her tenacious. She was just full of joy.”

“She’d be digging at the dirt, looking at insects, not afraid to hold them. She just was super brave,” her dad said.

Her parents said they remain grateful for the kindness of paramedics, police and the community of friends, family and neighbours who have cared for them.

“It’s really helped us not to feel alone in all this,” Chang said.

Still, each day without Jayla is painful.

“She just had so much love and she gave so much love,” Chang said.

“She brought so much light to our world. We just feel really dark without her,” said Ikeda.

For Jayla’s parents, losing her left an emptiness that can’t be filled.

“It’s just so different without her. There is just this quiet space where she was always filling that with her humour, her joy, her curiosity,” her dad said.