Days after being hit by a car outside her middle school, a 12-year-old girl from New York passed away, igniting local grief, indignation, and calls for more traffic safety.
Ashley Bratcher wished her daughter Aunamarie Mankhen a happy heavenly birthday in a devastating Facebook post on May 16, 2025.
Aunamarie’s first and last photos were included in the post.
“13…Today would have been your thirteenth birthday.This was the first photo I ever took of you and the final photo you took before boarding the bus on the day of your accident. In her memorial to the young daughter who will always be twelve, the bereaved mother said, “Auna, I miss you so f***ing much. Nothing will ever fill the hole in my heart.”
“I’m eager for the day when I can embrace you once more and wish I could give you one last hug.Greetings on your birthday, little girl. “Mommy will always and forever love you,” she said.
struck by a vehicle close to the school
Aunamarie tried to cross U.S. Route 11, a busy road that runs just in front of Central Square Middle School, while she was leaving the school on March 31, 2025, less than two months before her birthday, and was hit by a car. Traffic was thick, and classes had just ended.
Tyler Anthony Hanlon, 22, was the driver of the car that struck her, according to New York State Police. He stayed on the site and assisted the police. Aunamarie was taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse in critical condition when troopers arrived on the scene at around 2:44 p.m.
On April 3, Aunamarie passed away from her wounds in spite of the efforts of medical personnel.
“Sassy and sweet.”
Her relatives recalled her as a bright, imaginative youngster with lofty goals in a loving obituary.
It says, “To know Auna was to love her bright, colorful soul, her kind heart, and her sweet and sassy self.” She was known for usually dancing or listening to music, and she was colorful and feisty. She was intelligent, imaginative, and stunning on the inside and out.
In remembrance of her, mourners were asked to attend the burial dressed in purple, which was her favorite color. In an effort to give those in need hope, her family also declared that Aunamarie’s organs will be donated.
There is a school zone here.
Calls for traffic safety reform in the Central Square region, especially in the vicinity of school zones, have increased since Aunamarie’s passing.
Unsafe driving has long been a problem in the region, according to Susan Bonnet, manager of Bonnet Sales & Service, which is located across from the school, who spoke to Spectrum News 1.
According to Bonnet, “there doesn’t seem to be the desire to travel slowly up and down Route 11 on this stretch.” “Those children over there need to be kept safe because this is a school zone.”
She “was asking [Aunamarie] to please fight, just to please fight and let her know she wasn’t alone, and we wouldn’t let her alone until her family came,” said Bonnet, who saw the crash and remained with Aunamarie until help arrived.
“This is going to change your life. It is enormous. It’s terrible,” she continued.
“I really miss you.”
Additionally, the incident caused Aunamarie’s father to write on Facebook on Thanksgiving, his first time without her, expressing his anguish.
Paul Mahnken posted pictures of them together along with the caption, “I am beyond words waking up this morning I miss you so much Auna and I wish you could be here today.” “Without you, things really aren’t the same, and I don’t want to celebrate anything at all. Daddy loves you so much, my girl, and I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving up there.
Superintendent Thomas J. Colabufo of the Central Square School District attested to the fact that several children saw the occurrence and that staff and students affected by the loss were given access to counseling services.
No charges have been brought as of the most recent updates. Hanlon has remained completely cooperative, according to investigators, and there were no indications of impairment at the time of the collision. The inquiry is still under progress.
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