Massachusetts

Girl Killed in Lawrence Crash Remembered at Vigil as Beauty Queen Who Loved Motorcycles

Taysha Silva's dad says she was a beauty queen who wasn't afraid to get dirty

What to Know

  • Taysha Rohena Silva, 11, from Peabody, died Saturday night in a two-car crash in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
  • Her dad says she was a local beauty queen who loved to ride motorcycles, dance and work on cars.
  • Taysha's 8-year-old sister, her 15-year-old cousin, her mother, and her mother's boyfriend were seriously injured in the crash.

An 11-year-old girl who died in a weekend car crash in Lawrence was remembered at a vigil Monday night by family, friends and the community.

Taysha Silva was a local beauty queen but wasn’t afraid to get dirty either, often helping her father work on cars.

“She’s just what I wanted in a guy,” her dad, Roberto Silva, said. “I got in a girl’s body. She loves cars.”

She loved to ride motorcycles with her father, and dance, as well.

“I’m showing no weakness,” Roberto said. “I’m pretty sure that’s what she’d want me to do, I’m hurt, it’s killing me, I cried for the last two days, I legit have no more tears.”

Twenty-three-year-old Selvin Manuel Lima, the Lawrence man who allegedly caused the fatal crash that killed Taysha, was arraigned Monday while in his hospital bed in intensive care.

Just before the accident, prosecutors say Lima had been pulled over for speeding and erratic driving.

But he fled the scene and soon lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a car with five people inside.

“I’m not mad at him,” Roberto said. “He’s a human being at the end of the day, just like I am, we all make mistakes.”

Four other people suffered serious injuries in the crash, including Taysha’s mother and sister.

The defendant is facing several charges including manslaughter.

Police say his driver’s license had already been suspended at the time of the crash.

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