In the three days Margreta (Maggie) Erin Feeley spent in hospital fighting for her life after being crushed by a dump truck, the halls of the intensive care unit were filled with dozens of family members and friends, hoping, praying that she would make it out alive.
But her injuries were so extensive her family had no choice but to take her off life support. She was pronounced dead at Victoria General Hospital just before 10 p.m. on Wednesday.
“I just spent three days in intensive care with her and I can tell you there wasn’t less than 25 to 30 people in there praying for her,” said her mother, Nina Buchwalter, breaking down into tears. “This girl had touched a lot of lives. Nobody wants to let her go.”
Doctors removed Feeley from life support Wednesday afternoon but she continued breathing until that night.
The B.C. Coroners Service and WorkSafe B.C. are investigating the accident, which happened Monday morning while paving was underway on Beverly Street in Duncan. Feeley was working as a flagperson, wearing reflective gear, and was directing a car out of a driveway behind the dump truck when it backed over her.
Feeley, 29, has three children, 10-year-old Sierra and eight-year-old Adrianna who live with Buchwalter, and three-year-old Cassius who lives with Feeley and her partner in Lake Cowichan.
“She’s left three young, beautiful children who will now go through their lives without their mom,” Buchwalter said.
Buchwalter said Adrianna painted a picture of a bright rainbow, in neon paint, and said “Nana, can you take this to the hospital and can you give this to my mama and tell her I painted this rainbow and it’s going to help her get up to heaven.” Buchwalter said she put the painting in Feeley’s hand and said her goodbye. “When she passed away she still had that [painting] in her hand.”
Some of Feeley’s colleagues called her their little starlet, Buchwalter said, because of the star tattoos she has on either side of her collarbone and her petite build.
Buchwalter was the middle child, with an older brother, Matt, 32, and a younger brother, Nick, 25. Feeley’s father died when she was five.
Feeley attended Blanshard Elementary School and Central Middle School.
Ashley Reardon said the two grew up together, playing around Blanshard Court in Victoria. They would jump on the backyard trampoline and play pool in the Blanshard Community Centre. “She was my best friend,” Reardon said. “She was a strong little girl, definitely feisty.”
Diane Herback of the B.C. Flagging Association said she’s organizing a two-minute silence among B.C. construction workers today as a memorial for Feeley. “We’re very upset,” she said. “It symbolizes that no matter if we knew her or not, we care.”
Herback is also planning a candlelight vigil in Holland Park in Surrey on Sunday to collect donations for the family.
A co-worker, Candace Wirsch, is organizing a bottle drive Saturday on Ed Nixon Terrace in Langford to raise money.
