NAMPA, Idaho — It has been almost four years since Kyla Guest lost her precious 4-year-old daughter Kyanne. On December 1, 2020, Kyanne was hit by a car and killed while crossing Midland and Roosevelt Streets in Nampa. She was in the crosswalk, holding hands with her big sisters. They had just gone to the neighborhood gas station to get a snack.
"That day my girls, Reece and Paige, had just gotten home from school and they wanted to walk here to the Chevron to get a snack," said Kyla Guest, Kyanne's mother. "Kyanne overheard them and wanted to go, she was so excited. I let her go, too. They were crossing Midland on Roosevelt, and the sun was setting, and a man was making a left turn and did not see them due to the sun. He made that left turn and he hit Reese and Kyanne. Reese somehow made it, sadly Kyanne passed away immediately right on the scene."
The corner is now a makeshift memorial to Kyanne. To this day, there are still stuffed animals, painted rocks, notes and photos on that corner. Kyla spends a lot of her time there.
"So, this is the last place that her and her sisters were before they crossed to go home," Kyla said. "This is the spot I came and first mourned her for the first time because I didn't have anywhere else to go. It's become a precious place to me. Kyanne loved holidays and so I come here every season and I change out the decorations for her. I think it's just a reminder that she meant something to us, that we are not going to forget."
She said what also keeps her going are the thousands of photos and videos on her phone of her little girl.
"She made videos on my phone all the time of her singing and dancing," she said. "She gave me that gift without even knowing it. I miss her, I miss her more than I could ever put into words."
This grieving mother has been working with the City of Nampa to make the streets safer. She inspired the city to start the Remember our Children Initiative. One of the first intersections that was made safer is the one where Kyanne died.
"There will be no more flashing yellow left turns, and they are trying to implement that throughout the city," Kyla said.
She also said she has big plans for the corner, but she needs the community's help to make it happen.
"We are actually building a memorial here, it's called "Kyanne's Corner Project," she said. "We are going to have a statue of Kyanne holding onto a lantern, and at night that lantern is going to light up. It's basically reminding people to love one another, to put others before yourself. We want her to be a beacon for that."
Kyla said the one thing that really upsets her, is that she continues to see reckless driving on our roads every day.
"I see it at least ten times a day," she said. "People are blowing through lights, or they are ignoring stop signs and blowing through crosswalks."
She found the courage to post a video about what she was seeing on Facebook, and urging people to drive safely. It went viral. There were hundreds of comments from people who thanked her for her powerful message.
"What's it going to take to make you change? What's it going to take to make your driving different? Is it going to take losing something precious? Really imagine having to live with that and not being able to take it back and it's a choice that you made," Kyla said. "I really hope it resonates, I really hope they remember. It's not going to change until our driving changes."
Kyla said she thinks "Kyanne's Corner Memorial" will inspire people to drive carefully. $80,000 dollars is needed to make Kyanne's statue and memorial a reality, and this mom is determined to bring it to life.
What is more amazing, is that celebrated Boise sculptor Benjamin Victor has been tapped to create the statue of Kyanne that will be the centerpiece of the memorial.
"I'm not going to stop until it's done," she said. "I don't care if it takes me until I'm 90. We don't want this to be a sad spot, we want this to be something that makes an impact and is positive," said Guest. "This is Kyanne's destiny, this is what she was put on this earth for, to change these things and to save other children's lives."
Kyla said she finally gelt strong enough to contact the 23-year-old driver who accidentally hit Kyanne in 2022.
"I did reach out to him a year and a half after her death," she said. "I was having a really hard time and I heard that he was having a really hard time. Someone actually said to me you know, you don't need two deaths to come out of this accident."
She sent him a message on Facebook.
"I just told him I forgive you, we love you, we don't hold this against you, we know it was an accident. I hope Kyanne has changed your life and brought you closer to God and not farther away," Kyla said. "He did write me back, and he said she is the first thing he thinks about when he wakes up and the last thing he thinks about when he goes to bed at night. He felt broken, I worry about him, I do, and I hope he's okay."
Kyla hopes to meet him one day at the dedication of "Kyanne's Corner." He told her he will come. In the meantime, she said she will continue to fundraise for her little girl's legacy.
"She's going to make a difference," Kayla said.
Jacksons owns the gas station on the corner where this happened and has offered to provide the landscaping for the memorial. Kylas said she is grateful. She is hoping our community will be touched by her message, and donate to this incredible memorial effort.
Follow "Kyanne's Corner Project" on Facebook.