ORANGE, Vt. — Kaylee Bailey’s mindset was always to love “big or go home,” her mom Heather Bailey said Wednesday.
Whether it was her dirt bike, sunflowers, Hello Kitty, photography or Kentucky Fried Chicken, which she had a “weird obsession” with, 16-year-old Kaylee loved things in a big way, according to her best friend Jakob Spencer.
She was by all accounts a “spitfire” who was quick to voice her opinions and defend the people she cared most about, including her family, friends and her boyfriend Kevin Buick. Kaylee had moved around Orange County before landing in the town of Orange where she was living with Kevin, 17, and his dad Jamie Buick for a little over a year.
Kaylee was killed on Oct. 5, after a Subaru Crosstrek turned in front of her Kawasaki dirt bike on Richardson Road in Orange, according to a news release from Vermont State Police and an eye-witness account.
The car, operated by Kyle Hunt, 23, of Washington, Vt., was traveling west on Richardson Road before attempting to turn left toward Emery Road, crossing the intersection where Kaylee was riding. The two collided head on.
Kaylee died at the scene. Hunt, who couldn’t be reached for comment on Friday, was uninjured.
Police are investigating the crash. Vermont State Police spokesperson Adam Silverman declined to provide further details on the ongoing investigation Thursday.
Since Kaylee’s death, her loved ones have been gathering at the crash scene regularly. A memorial on the side of the dirt road features flowers, especially her favorite sunflowers, balloons, a cross marked with Kaylee’s name and a neon pink dirt bike handle grip.
Kaylee got her lime green dirt bike in June as a 16th birthday present, her aunt Lisa Thompson said at the scene of the crash Wednesday afternoon.
“Most kids want a car, she wanted a dirt bike,” said Thompson, who lives in East Corinth.
As a condition of the gift, Kaylee promised to always wear her safety gear, including a helmet and neck brace, Thompson said. She also had to practice riding the bike at home for weeks before being allowed to take it off the property, Jamie Buick said.
Kaylee loved her dirt bike and she, Jakob and Kevin rode together most days.
A little over a year ago, Kaylee moved to Orange where she lived with Kevin and shared a driveway with Jakob. She was attending school online.
Growing up, “school was always a challenge” for Kaylee, Thompson, her aunt, said. She had gone to several different schools and often struggled to “fit in and find her place in life.”
But during the past year, Kaylee had “really come to love life” and found her stride in many ways, Thompson said.
“She would come telling tales, (but) instead of the tales about school or what’s not going well, it was what they would get to go do,” Thompson said, such as taking a trip to Florida, riding dirt bikes and spending time with her friends from whom she was inseparable.
“You were just feeling this really radiating positive energy,” Thompson said.
Since meeting through Kevin about a year ago, Jakob and Kaylee grew close and did everything together.
“She might as well have been my sister,” Jakob said.
The two friends often rode on his four-wheeler together. When they started to become closer she would ask to go out every day, usually incessantly until he gave in.
“She’s very convincing,” Jakob said.
His friend was persuasive and vocal and “always showed she cared for you no matter what,” Jakob said. One of the biggest ways was by advocating for people and sharing her opinions regardless of who she might upset.
Kaylee had recently started thinking about her goals, Thompson said. She loved photography and wanted to start a business. She enjoyed taking photos of her family, of nature and of herself.
“You could always find her in front of a mirror, a camera, just something that reflected her,” Jakob said.
Kaylee loved fashion and she always had her hair, nails and makeup done.
“Yes, she loved dirt bikes and stuff but she also was a girly girl and she loved to let it be known that she was beautiful,” her mom Heather Bailey, of Bradford, said.
Kaylee also loved animals big and small. She rode horses growing up, had many pets over the years and loved Highland cattle. Kaylee and Kevin had several fish and the two were negotiating with Buick to let them get a hamster.
Witness account
On Oct. 5, a Sunday, Jakob, Kaylee and Kevin left the Buicks’ house around 5:10 p.m., Jakob said. The teens were on a familiar route up Richardson Road to the nearby Notch Trail, which has a marked trail head just past the Emery Road intersection.
The group came to the intersection in a line with Kevin leading, Kaylee in the middle and Jakob at the back, Jakob said. From where he was, Jakob could see the Subaru Crosstrek as it approached from the opposite direction.
“I just had that slight fear in me that something bad might happen,” said Jakob.
Jakob continued to watch the car approach and recalled the moment he saw the driver turn his wheel, he said.
“I instantly knew that there was no way for her to get out of what happened,” said Jakob. “Either way she was going to crash, it was just how bad” the collision might be.
After the car and dirt bike collided, Jakob jumped off his bike. The 15-year-old called family for help and began CPR on Kaylee, who was unresponsive.
First responders arrived at 5:17 p.m., less than 10 minutes after the teens had left home.
“She did everything that she could do right,” Jakob said. “She had all of her gear. We were on the right side of the road.”