The youngest victim killed in a Brooklyn building collapse was an enthusiastic student who lit up the classroom with her kindness and love of learning, grieving teachers told The Washington Post.
Nikol Daniela Salvada Rodriquez, 9, a third-grader at Flatbush Success Academy, was among seven others killed in the deadly disaster Wednesday just after 4 p.m., including her father and cousin
Her heartbreaking death has left the charter school community shattered, and her teachers are honoring her life amid unimaginable loss.
“She was a quiet girl, but every time she knew her answer was right, she found her brave voice and spoke with such confidence that she enveloped the room,” said teacher Elijah Robertson.
Nicole loves reading and is determined to excel in school, and her excitement for learning is contagious. Her teacher said that as soon as she got 100% on her ELA test, a “dance party” would break out in the classroom.
“She loved to dance,” Robertson recalled. “Everything we did without her: the first ELA class, the first book reading class, the first math class—every first class without her was like heartbreak over and over again.”
Tiyara Flood, who was also one of Nicole’s teachers, said she also enjoyed drawing, describing her as a “smart, sweet, talented scholar.”
Robertson said telling Nicole’s classmates that she had died was one of the most difficult moments of her life.
“All the kids were crying hysterically and heartbroken because the person they had studied with, played with at recess, danced with in the dance club for three months was no longer here. They couldn’t accept it,” she said.
Aziah Siid, another of Nicole’s teachers, said this is her first year at Success Academy since she transferred from public school.
Although the young student had changed dramatically, she thrived in her new environment.
“She really was the definition of prosperity in the place where she was planted,” Sid said. “She refuses to do anything that will not succeed.”
Most importantly, Nicole was a “daddy’s girl,” Robertson added, fighting back tears. She is always happy to see her father, Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31, who often picks her up from school on his electric scooter.
“She would stand in front of him, holding the handlebars, and he would stand behind her, driving the scooter. Those were her happiest times — riding that scooter with her dad,” Robertson said.
“So knowing that her dad died with her, God knew they couldn’t be separated. No matter what happened, they had to be together. So I just tried to find peace in that moment of knowing that she was daddy’s little girl, and that she would still be one.”
All three educators posted heartfelt tributes to Nikol on Instagram, along with photos of the little girl smiling and reading in the classroom. They also showed drawings and notes she had made for teachers.
They also stressed that the correct spelling of her name is “Nikol”, although authorities declared it “Nicole”.
“We are so lucky to have Nicole’s love,” Syd said. “Her kindness was so contagious and pure, and it’s something everyone – children and adults alike – should have. Her kindness was something the world needed.”
Nicole and her father were among eight victims when the three-story apartment building suddenly collapsed. The other dead victims were identified as Nicole’s cousin, Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzales, 10, a fifth-grader at Success Academy; Gabriel Siguencia, 22; Mamadou Barry, 23; Mamadou Ndiaye, 31; Jose Llo Caguana Backos and Edgar
Eighteen others were injured, including Nicole’s mother, Estefania Rodriguez, and her 3-year-old sister, as well as 9-year-old Pablo Alvarez, who suffered a serious head injury.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office has launched a criminal investigation into the collapse along with the Department of Buildings and the Division of Investigations.
The city signed off on plans to dig deeper at a construction site that could have caused the collapse, even though the construction site lacked critical structural supports, The Washington Post previously reported.
The city is still determining who is at fault.
“This is really unfortunate and could have been avoided,” Robertson said.