Teen killed in landslide wanted to get family out of poverty

Sanique Leachman, 15, late student of The Queen's School, had plans of becoming an accountant, as she wanted to elevate her family from the realms of poverty, her aunt Rosemarie Leachman told THE STAR.

However, her plans did not come to fruition as the youngster was killed in a landslide last Friday in her home in Shooters Hill, St Andrew.

"She said she wanted to become an accountant because she was good at math and I can tell you she love money. She always a save and try to put a little a side but this love for money was because she had big plans for her family," said Rosemarie

She added: "She all have a little white bag that she put her money in, is me find it under the rubble and when me look in there a $1,000 me find Sanique was a saver."

Young Sanique was so adamant about becoming an accountant, she would work with a family friend, Paul Bender, to give her a feel of the working world.

"I do building construction and is she do all the accounting part for me like balance my checking books and so on," said Bender. "She said that she must be an account so I just allow her to start get the start but her main thing was to start make money from early to help her family."

The teen's father, 42- year-old Romeo Leachman was also killed after the land slippage caused their home to collapse. After the incident, which occurred around 8 a.m, his body was retrieved from the rubble, while Sanique's body was pulled from the debris by men in the community on Saturday.

She got her wish

Rosemarie revealed that Sanique was very close to her father.

"She told me that if her father dies she wants to die with him so I guess she got her wish," she told THE STAR. "Them close bad and she loved him, about two weeks ago she got $2,000 from a church member and she go buy two cement so she could help him fix up the house. A lot of children wouldn't do that."

Beverly Binns, Sanique's grandmother, said that father and daughter were like "two peas in a pod".

"Anywhere the father go him nuh leave her because it was always the two of them. Him never leave her because she is him only child and he wanted to give her the best that he could," she said.

Binns said her last conversation with Sanique was about the birthday plans she had for her dad.

"I talk to her Thursday and she wanted to give her daddy a surprise dinner because he was going through so much stress for her," said Binns. "She lived her life wanting to give him a better life."

Meanwhile, the double tragedy has left the family to ponder about funeral expenses, which will be a burden.

"We poor and we never a expect this. Tomorrow me have to go the parlour and thing and I don't have the fare," Rosemarie told THE STAR. "Me nuh know what is gonna happen. God know." Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie said that the Government will provide the necessary assistance to the family during a tour of the area.