Family members have identified one of the two University of Victoria students killed in a tragic bus crash near Bamfield on Friday.
Winnipeg-born Emma Machado, 18, was killed along with John Geerdes, 18, from Iowa City, after a bus with 45 students and two teaching assistants veered off a gravel road and slid down an embankment just before 10 p.m. Friday.
Machado's family told CTV Vancouver Island on Monday that she had fallen in love with Victoria and was thrilled to be participating in the biology program at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre.
Machado's parents said she was the youngest child in the family and a challenging one to raise. However, they added, she was always fun to be around and her parents never had to worry about her.
Machado came to Victoria in the spring to explore the city and the university and immediately knew it was where she wanted to move, the family said.
Machado's mother helped the young woman move into a UVic residence on Sept. 1.
"I miss her a lot," Machado's sister Sam told CTV News, adding that the two sisters spoke on FaceTime last week. "I have a hard time thinking it's real."
