Elaine Thomas was a no-nonsense woman - straight-talking, hard-working and fun-loving.
A week ago her life ended when an out-of-control truck dragged her Mazda for nearly a kilometre down Bluff Road.
Her death left Bluff residents outraged. A metal cross was planted at the intersection of Edwin Swales VC Drive and Bluff Road and a public meeting was called for Thursday.
Her death has left a huge gap in the life of her best friend, Rochelle Kelly, and Kelly's daughter, Bianca, 11.
"It's like half of me is gone. She was more than a friend, she was my sister, my mother all rolled into one," Kelly said.
Thomas was also Bianca's "second mom".
"She looked after both of us. She was actually more of a mother to Bianca than I am," Kelly, who is on a disability pension, said.
On Saturday, August 9, their lives changed forever. Kelly said Thomas, 40, was on her way to work at the Gold Circle totalisator on the Bluff.
"She used to hate those trucks and often cursed at them when they came speeding past," Kelly said.
Both Thomas's parents died when she was in her late teens and the Kellys became her family. Thomas doted on Bianca.
Thomas was with Kelly when she went for her first sonar scan and after Bianca's birth became an integral part of her life.
"She was like my mother, taking me shopping, to the movies and to the Spur," said Bianca. Thomas also encouraged her to study hard so she would not have to rely on anyone.
"She would sit with me, hug me and talk about school and stuff. She used to like wearing boxers (shorts) and Mitzi (her cat) slept with her. He would lick her nose to wake her up in the morning," Bianca said.
Kelly said Thomas had never been married and believed in being independent.
"She was a real tomboy. She loved to play pool and enjoyed drinking Black Label. She used to joke that the last time she wore a dress was in school.
Thomas grew up in Montclair and attended Mowat Park Girls' High School. She went to university, but gave up her studies to look after her father, who was dying of cancer.
Her mother had died two years earlier.
"She always looked after people. First her dad, later us. I don't know what we are going to do without her," said Kelly.
Kelly's sister-in-law, Georgie Kelly, said Thomas's death could have been avoided if the authorities had done something about the trucks travelling on Bluff Road.
On Thursday this week Kelly's car was "clipped" by another truck on the same road Thomas was killed. "He did not even stop," she said.
A memorial service for Thomas was held in Greyville on Wednesday.