19-=year-old Shannon McQuillan was killed after being struck by a van on Saturday morning
A 19-year-old woman who died after being hit by a van has been described as “one of most loving, caring and thoughtful people” person you could ever meet.
Shannon McQuillan, who was from the village on Dunloy near Ballymoney, was struck down on the Moneynick Road in Toome in the early hours of Saturday morning.
A 21-year-old man who with Ms McQuillan at the time of the incident was also injured and is currently in a “very serious condition” in hospital.
A former pupil at St Louis Grammar in Ballymena, Ms McQuillan was studying Law and Criminology at the Ulster University at Jordanstown.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Ms McQuillan’s longtime friend Samantha Caulfield said she will be sorely missed.
In a tribute, she said: “You were an amazing, beautiful young girl and our friendship was one of a kind, I’m one of the luckiest people to have been able to make all the memories we share.
“I will always keep them safe and stored in my heart.”
Sinn Fein MLA Philip McGuigan, who lives in Dunloy, said the village had been “plunged into sadness” at the news of Ms McQuillan’s death.
He said: “This news that we woke up to this morning in the village is heartbreaking. I know this young girl and I know her family well. I would be speaking to her father almost on a daily basis.
“She was at university and had a bright future so to have lost her life so young in these circumstances is hard to take.
“All our thoughts and prayers are with her family who are obviously devastated.
“We are also thinking and praying for the young fella from Ballymoney who is injured and for his family.”