BELMONT — Mourners gathered Thursday to memorialize the 3-year-old Bronx girl fatally hit by a car who they remembered as a smart and lovely child not afraid to speak her mind.
"She was a bright, beautiful and wonderful young lady," said one woman who spoke at the ceremony. "She was wonderful, and she will be missed."
About 100 people came to the Masjid-Ur-Rahmah in The Bronx on Thursday to pay their respects to Mariam Dansoko, who was walking to preschool with her mother and sibling on Monday around 8 a.m. when she was struck by a 21-year-old man driving a 2014 Nissan while crossing E. 164th Street and Gerard Avenue.
She was taken to Lincoln Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.
No charges have been brought against the driver.
Imam Musa Kabba, who led Thursday morning's service, stressed that it was important for the community to rally around the family in their time of need.
"This morning, we gather here at this house to do what we have to do for this young one, our loved one," he said.
"We will tell the family that they are not alone in this," he continued. "We are with them."
Multiple representatives from the community spoke at the service as well, including Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson, who said she would work to keep Mariam's memory alive in the community.
"It is my commitment to work with all of you during this time of mourning, coming together in fellowship, coming together in love," he said, "and if there is anything that I can do on behalf of our community, I am absolutely willing."
Kenneth Golden, director of the Highbridge Advisory Council Head Start program that Mariam attended, also spoke, saying that she still had a significant impact on the world despite not being in it for very long.
"Mariam was three," he said, "and she touched a lot of people's lives."
Mariam's body was brought into Masjid-Ur-Rahmah in a small wooden coffin, and the mourners headed to a cemetery in New Jersey after the service to continue their ceremony. Family members declined to comment on their way out.
The investigation into Mariam's death is ongoing, and there have been no arrests yet, according to the NYPD.
Kabba emphasized that the only way the family and the community would get through such a powerful tragedy would be by sticking together, which he strongly urged everyone to do.
"This is how we have to live in New York City," he said. "We have to live together."
