A model daughter and a shining light...

David Scott said the ‘devastating loss’ of his neice, 17-year-old Emma, was a “shattering blow to all the family” and all those she worked with.

“She was just a very lovely, keen, enthusiastic wee girl, a bouncy personality”, said David, who is a director at Sydney B Scott, a family owned fruit and veg company, where Emma also worked in telesales and the farm shop.

Emma was killed at the Creamery Road outside Coleraine last Wednesday morning when her red Mini was in a collision with a silver Audi A4.

David revealed: “She had left work at 10.45am to go to a dental appointment in Ballymena.

“We reckon that three minutes later she was dead.

“She took a shortcut along the Creamery Road to Ballymoney and it was there she met this other car.

“The dentist rang her mother Sally to say she had not arrived and she rang her dad Richard to see if she had left or wanted to re-arrange the appointment.

“When she didn’t return to the warehouse Richard went to Ballymoney to look for her and he came upon the accident on the way back.”

David said that he and his family cut short their family holiday in Florida to fly back home immediately.

He said that Emma’s boyfriend of ten months, Neil Moore, was informed of her death by his father Wilbur, who runs Moore Concrete in Ballymena.

He saidtha Emma’s Christian values were hugely important to her

“Emma was a Christian and was saved.

“She wanted to live life, she was enthused by life but she was prepared to die.

“Whether it was at home, at work or at Moneydig Gospel Hall, she put all of herself into these things.

“Only a couple of weeks ago she spent three nights trying to build up a Sunday School together for local children. She was using her car to go around the area.

“She had everything she wanted, a boyfriend, her own wee car which Richard and Sally had bought her.

“She only passed her test six weeks ago.

“Her mum and dad and the business had big plans for her because she was so keen and enthusiastic.”

David said that everyone in the family-business was “totally devastated” by Emma’s death.

“She went to DH Christie Primary School and then to Dunluce but she just wanted to leave school and join the business.

“She loved shopping and we used to keep her going when she came into work because she always looked so well, you’d have thought she was going to a wedding.

“She loved to dress up and cared about her appearance. And she was so good with all the customers, so polite and thoughtful.”

Former mayor, councillor Sam Cole, said: The Aghadowey community are stunned and their hearts and mine go out to her family circle and friends as they mourn the tragic loss of someone so young in yet another road accident .

“I met and spoke to Emma during the May election canvass in Aghadowey and found her to be a well mannered lovely young lady. She will be sadly missed.”

It’s believed around 1,000 mourners - many of them young friends - attended Emma’s funeral service which was held in Killykergan Gospel Hall on Saturday afternoon.

The praise service was led by David Gilliland, a gospel preacher who flew in from Canada, Murray McCandless, John Rogers and a family cousin, Wesley Martin.

Afterwards Emma was buried at Coleraine cemetery.