Tragedy can strike at any time.
A Prince George's family's heart was broken after losing a sister, daughter, and friend in a tragic crash this past summer on Highway 97.
Madeline Kozoris, 17 years old at the time, passed away after being ejected from a vehicle on July 8 in a tragic accident on a stretch of road near Hush Lake, 20 km north of Quesnel.
The male driver survived with non-life threatening injuries.
Madeline is survived by her mother Tammy, her father Jeff and siblings Olivia and Phoenix.
Recently, 16-year-old Olivia, who has stayed fairly quiet since her sister's passing, felt ready to share both her and Madeline's passion for dance, choreographing and performing a tribute in memory of her sister.
"She took aspects of Maddy’s previous dance solos and incorporated it into her own," close family friend Renee Conway-Grist told PrinceGeorgeMatters.
Madeline Kozoris passed away in July after a car accident on Highway 97. (via GoFundMe)A GoFundMe page was created to help the family while grieving their loss and almost $15,000 was raised to help with financial obligations and funeral costs.
"Every day has been a challenge," Olivia tells PrinceGeorgeMatters.
"We had our disagreements, but, in the end, we were always there for each other; not having her by my side has been very hard these past six months."
She says the dance was choreographed and performed as a final project for her grade 11/12 dance class at Prince George Secondary School.
At times, it became too much for her to process and overwhelming grief forced her to step away.
"It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do during the choreography process; to sit and watch a video of Madeline, knowing that she isn't with us, brought me to tears," she says.
"I had to be very patient with myself as there were times in class where the grief overcame me and I had to call it for the day. I hope that it [dance video] would make her feel special and loved, and remind her how much I care about her."
Olivia has also found other ways to honour Madeline including writing songs, story illustrations, and even a photojournalism project dedicated to Madeline's life.
She currently is working with her band (Far From Linear) to write more music to accompany songs about her sister.
"I look forward to seeing those come into their final stages."
