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Vigil held in Waterford Township for 6-year-old girl, father killed by suspected drunk driver

A community gathered to honor and remember Riley and Nick Melanshek

WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The Waterford community got together to look back on what they loved about a father and his 6-year-old girl, both killed by a suspected drunk driver.

Riley and Nick Melanshek were on the way home from a car dealership, when a car crashed into them at a stop light at M-59 and Airport Road.

Members of the Waterford community came out Saturday night to remember a father and daughter. They’re all from different backgrounds, some didn’t even know 6-year old Riley and her father Nick Melanshek, but Danielle Miller -- with the local group ‘Waterford Matters’ -- said that didn’t matter,

“When this accident happened, it just shook everybody," MIller said. "We just want the mom to know that we are here to support anyway, shape or form.”

Little Riley and her dad Nick were on the way from meeting Riley’s mom, and Nick’s wife, at a car dealership when a car crashed into them. Police said the driver was drunk.

“You don’t need to know someone personally to care for someone," said Katie Drypen, with ‘Waterford Matters.' “It affected everybody.”

Chrissy White, a friend of the family, said her daughter and Riley were friends, “Our daughter, my daughter Audrey and Riley were in preschool together, they were three years old.”

White said on the way to school, Riley would hold her daughter’s hand.

“This little girl was so nice to my daughter, who was scared," White said. "I have pictures of them holding hands because it’s just something you want to remember as a mother.”

And it’s memories like those that brought a town of strangers, united in a close-knit circle, to remember Riley and Nick.

Man accused of killing 6-year-old girl in Waterford Twp. drunken driving crash facing 5 charges

A man accused of being drunk and driving recklessly at the time of a four-car crash that killed a 6-year-old girl and injured her parents in Waterford Township is facing five charges.

Trevor Duncan Taylor, 28, of Waterford Township, was driving a white 2016 Hyundai Sonata west on Highland Road at a high speed, according to authorities.

Taylor rear-ended a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox that was stopped at the red light near the curb at Airport Road, police said. The impact caused the Equinox to hit a 2018 Ford Fusion that was stopped in front of it at the light, officials said.

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