Crash girl was 'always smiling'

Steph was described as 'bright, chatty and social' by her father

The parents of a teenager who was killed as she tried to cross a road have spoken of their daughter who was 'always smiling'.

Stephanie Gibson, 13, died two days after she was in collision with a car as she tried to cross Weatherhill Road in Smallfield, Surrey, on the bridge above the M23.

She was taken to East Surrey Hospital and then transferred to Atkinson Morley Hospital where she was pronounced dead on Thursday.

Her father Mike Gibson said he had been amazed at how his only child had touched the lives of so many people.

Steph wasn't just our daughter, she was our best friend, and we will always miss her

Sue Gibson

He said "She was a very bright, chatty and social teenager and somehow she crossed age group barriers effortlessly.

"The thing that everyone keeps saying about her is that she was always smiling, she was known as 'the kid who smiles' by everyone from residents of the village to the local metro bus driver."

Her mother Sue said: "She stood out because she was such good fun, she was always laughing or dancing and she was very mischievous, but they also remember how she was always helping people.

"Steph wasn't just our daughter, she was our best friend, and we will always miss her."

The teenager, whose organs have been donated for transplantation, was a pupil at Oakwood School in Horley.

Her funeral will take place on 5 June at the Sussex and Surrey Crematorium in Crawley.