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12.28.2001 10:40
Daughter
lives on
in memories
BY ERIN EMLOCK
Journal Staff Writer
NORTH KINGSTOWN
-- For Karen Miele, this year's best Christmas gifts did not have wrapping paper and fancy bows. They weren't even for her.
The gifts were for her daughter, Gina Dalton, who died in a car accident in July, just weeks after her graduation from North Kingstown High School. Miele's family and friends used the money they would have spent on Christmas presents for Dalton to make donations to a scholarship fund set up in her name.
The scholarship has provided Miele with something positive to focus on even as she continues to grieve. She is happy that the money will go to help students like Dalton, and comforted by the fact that her daughter's memory will live on.
"It makes me feel so good that everyone thought of Gina in this way," she said. "I just don't want to let go of her."
Two of Miele's friends came up with the idea for the scholarship fund, and helped her set it up. It was established in October, and has raised $1,500 so far. The money will be awarded to North Kingstown High School graduating seniors planning to pursue a career in computers -- the same field that had captured Dalton's interest.
Miele, 46, has worked on the East Side of Providence as a manicurist for the past 29 years. She says she admired her daughter's extroverted personality.
"She was really going places," Miele said.
Now that the scholarship fund has been established, Miele is determined to make sure that it will last long into the future.
"Even if I have to do it on my own, I'll keep it going," Miele said.
The accident that killed Dalton took place just after midnight on July 9, in Narragansett. The police said that Dalton, who was driving her mother's BMW, was drag-racing another car at 80 mph on Boston Neck Road when she lost control of the car and began to skid.
The car hit the median and flipped over several times before it came to rest. Neither Dalton nor the three passengers in her car were wearing seat belts. Dalton was thrown from the car and died as a result of the head injuries she suffered when she hit the pavement, the police said.
Dalton had been hanging out with a group of friends from North Kingstown near the sea wall in Narragansett before the accident occurred. The police said that the teenagers had been discussing the summer movie
The Fast and the Furious
, which features drag-racing scenes.
The driver of the other car, Christopher R. Poirier, 18, pleaded no contest in District Court, South Kingstown, in September to a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving.
Judge Robert J. Rahill sentenced Poirier to 50 hours of community service and one year of probation. Poirier also lost his license for six months and had to pay court costs.
According to court records, Poirier did his community service at the North Scituate Baptist Church, completing the 50 hours last month.
The drag-race took place three weeks after Dalton's graduation from North Kingstown High School, where she was a member of the "Tech Prep Team" during her junior and senior years.
Her family was proud of her plans to attend New England Technical College in preparation for a career in computer technology.
"She was only the fifth member of our family to go to college, so it was a big deal to us," Miele said.
The scholarship fund for computer students is not the only way that Dalton's memory is being kept alive. Almost six months after her death, people are still leaving mementos at a memorial created for Dalton at the scene of the accident. Every so often, Miele visits the site, and collects whatever has been left there. Two weeks ago, she found a letter addressed to her daughter that brought tears to her eyes.
"I'm at Narragansett Pier trying to write down the right words for you from someone you don't know ... it was so hard to hear about your death at age 17," the letter says.
The letter goes on to describe the impact Dalton's death has had on the teenage community.
"You have made teenagers be more cautious ... maybe that's what God was doing when he took you."
Miele says she is grateful to whomever took the time to write the letter -- she couldn't make out the name signed at the bottom.
"It's comforting to know that people are still thinking of Gina," she said.
And that is what Miele hopes to accomplish through the scholarship.
"I just want her to be remembered," she said."I want her name to go on."
Donations to the Gina Marie Dalton Memorial Scholarship Fund can be sent to P.O. Box 1555, North Kingstown, RI 02852-1555.
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