Saltspring Islanders have come to the aid of a local family who lost their three-year-old daughter following a tragic collision Tuesday.

Kilaya Singh was killed after the car her mother Naomi was driving lost control and spun out on a wet, windy Island road at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

They were rounding a corner in the 2300-block of Fulford-Ganges Road at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when their Volkswagen Jetta spun 180 degrees on the slick road and smashed into an oncoming GMC van.
The back seat where Kilaya and her five-year-old sister Nayoki were sitting suffered the most damage.

Kilaya had no vital signs at the scene but was briefly revived and airlifted to B.C. Children’s Hospital, where she died later that day.

Singh and her daughter Nayoki remain in hospital in Victoria with serious injuries, her partner Kreuger Singh by their side.

The driver of the van suffered minor injuries.

Police say heavy rains created extremely poor driving conditions.

More than 250 people have donated to an Island crowdfunding campaign on Sharespring.ca, raising $18,000 as of Friday morning, far exceeding the initial $15,000 goal.

“Our ability as a community to rally around each other in times of need may be our greatest strength,” Sharespring’s site stated.

The brand new website was supposed to launch this week with two other projects. Instead, its creators are focusing on sparing the Singhs from adding to their grief with financial hardship.

According to Sharespring, Naomi ran a small catering company, Omja. To make ends meet she also sold samosas at the Island’s Saturday market and worked at a local restaurant.

“This accident will put enormous strains on the family,” the website continued. “Sizable costs will be incurred with Kreuger needing to cover all the family’s bills here on the island, travel costs back and forth to the hospital in Victoria, food and accommodation expenses … to be near his family, and sadly … funeral costs.”

Local residents can also donate at the Island Trust to the Singh Family Fund. Learn more at Sharespring.ca.