18-year-old who died in crash was determined to be a teacher and dreamed of becoming a mother

IDAHO FALLS — Family and friends are remembering an 18-year-old woman with a bright future ahead of her who died in a six-vehicle crash.

Nykinzi Thomas would have been 19 this Thursday, Nov. 2.

“She was supposed to be here this weekend with us so we could do her birthday party,” said Nichole Gondola, Nykinzi’s mother, who lives in Pocatello.

Instead, Gondola will be having a birthday celebration to remember her daughter with family. They bought white paper lanterns so everyone could write a message.

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Gondola will miss her daughter’s presence.

“She loved listening to music and dancing. Like every time everyone was getting together, she would turn on music and she would say, ‘Let’s have a dance party!’ She liked to have fun and hang out and play games,” she said.

The crash

The six-vehicle crash happened just before 7 a.m. on Oct. 19 at the intersection of South Yellowstone Highway and West 49th South in Idaho Falls.

A 2013 Ford Taurus, driven by Thomas, entered the intersection and was hit by a westbound 2000 Kenworth semi-truck with two trailers, according to Idaho State Police.

Both vehicles crossed into the eastbound lanes, hitting four other vehicles. Thomas was taken to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries.

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Gondola had said her daughter’s boyfriend of almost three years was headed to work that day.

“He usually drives himself to work, but that morning, their other car was having issues, so she drove him to work and was dropping him off to work and heading home to get ready for work. He had no idea,” Gondola said.

The two had plans to one day get married, and they had talked about starting a family, Gondola had said. Thomas and her boyfriend had both recently moved to Idaho Falls to begin their lives.

“He is always going to be my son-in-law from her. She loved him dearly. He loved her. That’s all you can hope for — for somebody to love your kids as much as you do,” she said.

She was determined

Thomas had just graduated from Firth High School in May. She was involved in cheerleading at high school and did photography and journalism. She liked to try new things.

Thomas knew what she wanted to do and was very determined. She had applied for college, and her goal was to become a teacher.

“She had just barely got her dream job. She got a job at Ethel Boyes (Elementary School) in Idaho Falls and was a teacher’s aide. She was so ecstatic about that,” Gondola said.

Thomas was working the job for about a month before she died.

“She loved it. In fact, her coworkers came to her service and they made it a point to find me and tell me that they just loved having her there and she fit right in and she would have made a wonderful teacher,” Gondola said.

Thomas liked to be around children and her number one dream was to become a mother one day.

“She could not wait to be a mom. She would have made a wonderful mom,” Gondola said through tears.

The news of Thomas’s passing is tough. She had six siblings and was Gondola’s third child and first daughter. Gondola says she is trying to take it one day at a time.

“We are all completely devastated,” Gondola said. “She had the most beautiful soul. She just loved her family so much and she was so very loved, and she had the brightest smile.”

A GoFundMe account has been created to help her family with medical bills and financial hardships. If you are interested in donating, click here.