Tributes poured in on Sunday for 17-year-old Kacey Sciberras who died in a traffic accident on the Central Link road in Attard.

She was full of energy with a love for the festa at St Paul's Bay, said Roderick Cauchi, a family friend. “I remember her mother pregnant with Kacey, I remember how she would join the festa marches as a young girl, waving the flag and people carrying her on their shoulders,” he told Times of Malta.

He said that reading the news of her death this morning left him speechless and shocked, even more so since the last time he saw Kacey was on Saturday afternoon, hours before the tragic accident.

“I was at Lidl when I bumped into her,” he said. “I hadn’t seen her in a few weeks, and I remember telling her that she had grown so tall, nearly as tall as me and I am six feet. I remember her laughing when I told her that.

“After the news was out, I called her family, and members of the festa committee, we were crying on the phone. We are all under a huge shock.”

Kacey was a student at the Institute of Tourism Studies, studying to be a chef. Many fellow students expressed their shock at the tragedy, as did her lecturers and former teachers.

The ITS also paid tribute, 

"May we honour Kacey's memory by cherishing the impact she made on those around her and embracing unity and compassion. She will forever hold a special place in our hearts," the ITS seen in a Facebook post. 

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo recalled speaking to Kacey.

“A while ago during a visit to ITS, I spoke to Kacey about the career she wanted to take in tourism, and about the importance of young activism in the community,” he said. 

A former teacher of Kacey recalled how she taught her in Year 6. “How we used to tell you to study and put your mind to it, and how good you were at cooking,” she wrote. 

“We always said you would be a chef! And it’s true because you started to study at ITS. We will miss you and remember you with such a sweet smile.”