The family of 18-year-old Lavardo Pratt is left to mourn the death of the 12th grade student who was killed in a traffic accident in Cat Island on Friday.
About six grieving family members gathered at the Princess Margaret Hospital's Rand Morgue yesterday to identify the body.
Pratt's aunt, Maedell Woodside, who spoke to The Nassau Guardian on behalf of the family, said her nephew had just entered his final year at Old Bight High School in September.  He wanted to be an engineer.
According to Woodside, the tight-knit family is in shock.
Family members wept openly as they showed The Nassau Guardian Pratt's picture.  "It was really shocking to hear what happened to him," Woodside said.  "His life was cut so short.  He was so quiet. The gap [Lavardo's death] will leave [will not] be easy [to deal with].
"His mother never had to go to school for him because he [was] a humble child. He [did not] keep bad company and he [did not] smoke or drink.  [He was] an angel."
She said that Pratt was close to his parents, who are not taking the news of his death well.  "He's so helpful around the home.  His father is numb and his mother can't talk. I don't know how [his mother is going to] make it now."
Woodside added that relatives are not the only people affected by the tragic accident, stating that Pratt's death also saddened the Cat Island community.
"Teachers have been calling," Woodside said. "Everyone has been calling.
"He will always be in our hearts and always be in our memory.  He will linger with us forever."
According to police, Pratt was driving a white 250 motorcycle on Queen's Highway when the crash happened around 7:15 p.m.
It was reported that Pratt and the driver of a Ford F-350 truck were travelling west on the highway when Pratt collided with the back of the truck.
Pratt was reportedly taken to a clinic on the island where he died.  He was one of two young men from a Family Island killed over the weekend.
A 21-year-old Inagua resident was killed after his ATV collided with a truck at the intersection of Ashwood and East Streets in Matthew Town, police said.

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