A 14-year-old girl killed in a road accident has been recalled by her school principal as “smart, vivacious and full of vitality”.

Dennikia Lambert was a passenger in an SUV that crashed with a motorcycle at the roundabout of Dock Hill, Frog Lane and Palmetto Road, Devonshire, on Wednesday at 8pm.

She was pronounced dead shortly afterwards — becoming Bermuda’s eighth road fatality of 2016 — while a woman in her sixties who was driving the car, and the 21-year-old motorcyclist, also suffered injuries not thought to be life-threatening.

Reacting the day after the tragedy, Berkeley Institute principal Phyllis Curtis-Tweed said Dennikia had an outgoing personality who enjoyed taking part in dance and sports.

She described her as an honour student who had just finished her S1 year at the school, and would have commenced S2 in September. The teenager was “navigating the challenges of being a teenager with a positive sense of self and self-worth”, Dr Curtis-Tweed said in a statement for media.

“She was smart, vivacious, and full of vitality. She was a beautiful young lady both inside and out.

“She was a keen dancer and channelled great passion into her craft.

“She was on her way to becoming one of the great ones. Her dance teacher describes her as having a huge presence in the dance programme.

“She was one who was happy to organise events and her enthusiasm was contagious. She could energise her peers and they loved her.

“She gave 100 per cent, whether dancing, sprinting or being a diligent student.

“Dennikia had friends across all year levels, in some part, because of her enthusiasm for and participation in dance and sports, but in large part, because of her personality. She simply had an engaging and outgoing personality. She was so giving of herself. She volunteered at school on Saturdays and during lunch to assist in tutoring her peers. She knew how to be a friend. She would support her friends whenever she thought necessary and they in turn stood by her in times of need.

“Dennikia had great verbal skills and knew how to make a case for causes she believed in. She was definitely on the road to mastering the art of persuasion. She knew how to advocate for herself and others.”

Dr Curtis-Tweed said one student had commented that the class of 2019 would not be the same without Dennikia.

“This is true,” she said. “She has left an indelible mark on us, as one songwriter said, like ‘a handprint on our hearts’.

“She will be missed, but for ever loved and remembered. Our hearts go out to her immediate family. Her extended Berkeley family — students, teachers, staff, administrators — share your grief. As we support each other as the best of families do, we are left to live up to the legacy of Dennikia’s short but meaningful life: be a leader, believe in yourself, do your best, be a good friend, live with commitment and passion, advocate for yourself and others, love people and love life.”

The tribute closed with the school motto: “Respice Finem.”

According to witnesses on Wednesday night, the car crashed into a tree, snapping it in half, before careering on to the traffic island.

One man who was driving in the area just minutes before the collision told The Royal Gazette: “I ran down the road and saw the guy lying in the road next to the island. He was lying motionless for a long time.

“About 50 people had gathered around the scene: they were screaming and hollering as the man was lying in the road. The police eventually moved them all along. It was horrifying.”

Police offered condolences, adding that a family liaison officer has been appointed for her next of kin.

Witnesses are asked to contact Pc Eli at 295-0011.

UPDATED: Includes more tributes