IMMOKALEE, Fla. — A deadly crash on State Road 82 on New Year's Day has left the Immokalee community heartbroken after four people were killed.
One the victims was 31-year-old Miranda Jo Ayala, a devoted mother and community member who touched countless lives through her work with children in local schools.
"Never did I think that I would ever be looking at a picture like that of her," said Dana Anzualda, Ayala's cousin.
Anzualda is still in disbelief over the tragedy.
Watch to see Immokalee Community Correspondent Victoria Quevedo speak with Dana about her cousin:
"We're shattered. It's something that a lot of us aren't ready to accept," Anzualda said.
She described Ayala as encouraging and reliable - a woman who started each day with a run at Immokalee Airport Park and worked hard to make a difference in her community.
"She's impacted a lot of us here, not just family, friends, but schools. She worked there with kids," Anzualda said.
But there was one child who meant everything to Ayala — her young son, Marley.
"She was an amazing mother. She did everything for her son. Everything she did was for him," Anzualda said.
Ayala's final message to her son was sent just after midnight on New Year's Day: "Happy New Year's, I'm coming home."
"She was a gem that you could not — a unique one that you can never replace," Anzualda said.
The tragedy has left the entire Immokalee community grieving the lives lost in the New Year's Day crash.
FOX 4 reached out to the families' of the other victims, and they declined to both comment and interview.
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