May 27--Seven-year-old Samyra Lee was looking forward to the long weekend. Her grandmother was planning a barbecue and was making the girl's favorite, chocolate cake.
Friday morning, she was walking with her mother to Providence Englewood Charter school, where she was a first grader, when the light changed before they made it across Ashland Avenue at 65th Street, police said.
A tractor towing mowing equipment hit the two as they held hands in the crosswalk, police and family said. Samyra died at Comer Children's Hospital. Her mother, Julicia Lee, 24, suffered hip injuries but declined treatment and rushed to Comer to be with her daughter.
"The light is so short,'' said the girl's aunt, Nesia Lee. "Before she knew it, a (tractor) hit her and she flew and fell. When she got up, my niece was down the street ... just bleeding so bad."
Hours after the accident, Julicia Lee sobbed uncontrollably as she talked about her little girl who loved cats and had nearly a dozen nicknames, including "Sugar Pops" and "Chipmunk."
"She was just so sweet,'' Julicia Lee said. "She was a joy. She was my joy."
Lee said she'd gone through a rough time recently but her daughter always made her feel better. "My baby brought me out of it every morning. She made me so happy. She wanted me. She was telling me, 'I love you, I got you in my heart.'
"It's killing me,'' she cried. "I don't understand."
Samyra was excited about the summer vacation and had plans for camping, her aunt, Nesia Lee, said. She was smart, very well spoken, loved teddy bears, Twinkies, remote control go-carts and any kind of movies.
She had won tickets to Six Flags Great America because of her good reading scores. "She was just so chipper. So welcoming and so sweet. A wonderful little kid," Nesia Lee said.
Samyra was recently honored because her reading score had improved even more, and she decided she wanted to celebrate by going to Red Lobster.
"She wanted chocolate ice cream and crab legs,'' said her aunt. She laughed at the memory, then started crying when she remembered Samyra had wanted to go Thursday but she'd told her they would go next week.
"You know, you just wish you'd do things right away because you never know,'' Nesia Lee said. "She was so proud of herself."
The driver was issued a citation for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
The tractor is owned by a company contracted by the city's Streets and Sanitation. "We are deeply saddened," said department spokeswoman Jennifer Martinez. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family."
