“Gentle giant” Nikko Robinson-Woodley, the Island’s first road fatality of 2014, was last night mourned by family and colleagues from the Department of Marine and Ports.

The accident that claimed his life just shy of his 22nd birthday has also left a 23-year-old Smith’s man fighting for his life in King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Mr Robinson-Woodley, of Friswell’s Hill in Pembroke, was well-known from his job as a conductor on the Island’s ferries, and his work as a boat mechanic.

“I am going to lay my son to rest on his birthday, January 12,” heartbroken mother Kathy Woodley said last night. “Nikko was my baby — my only child.

“But I am just praying for the other person to make it through. That was Nikko’s good friend — and I need him to pull through for my son.”

The son of Ms Woodley and Larry Robinson, Mr Robinson-Woodley was a lifetime resident of his mother’s home on Friswell’s Road, Pembroke, where his extended family gathered.

“People would know my son’s smile — he had a huge smile with dimples, and his eyes sparkled,” Ms Woodley said.

“He was just planning to start volunteering his time to work at Marine and Ports without pay, because he wanted to keep up his skills. Nikko didn’t care about money, just wanted to keep in it.”

Her son also stood out for his towering physical presence, she added.

“He used to come home and just lift me up in his arms. Nikko was a good boy and a gentle giant.”

She also described her son as a music-lover, keen on drawing, who enjoyed mechanical work on boats as well as his motorcycle.

“He loved socialising and he was a real joker as well — everybody was attracted to Nikko to be his friend, and he had lots of friends.

“Nikko had friends in Germany, Spain and Japan, all over the world, as well as here in Bermuda.”

Mr Robinson-Woodley attended Saltus before attending boarding school at Washington Academy, a boarding school on the coast of Maine, from the age of 14.

Subsequently he attended the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI) in Orlando, Florida, graduating as a diesel mechanic in 2011.

“He was in a good place — he had been working with Marine and Ports every summer from April to November.

“People all over Bermuda knew my son from his work on the ferries at Dockyard.”

Ms Woodley added: “Nikko and my nephews Raeshun and Daeshun were like triplets coming up together. They are now my sons, and my godsons as well.”

Police said the crash occurred shortly before 1am on Saturday, when a car travelling on Harrington Sound Road went out of control and struck a tree just east of the junction with Paynter’s Road in Hamilton Parish.

Mr Robinson-Woodley was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 2am.

Another man, whose name is yet to be disclosed, was removed from the vehicle by the Bermuda Fire Service, who removed the top of the car to extricate him.

The injured man was last night in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit.

Police have appealed for anyone with information, or who may have seen the victim prior to the crash, to contact Pc Roger Fox at 295-0011.

Marine and Ports pilot trainer Mario Thompson said last night that the loss of Mr Robinson-Woodley “has ripped through the heart of staff at the Department”.

“It’s devastating news. I would definitely describe Nikko as a gentle giant — he was a big fellow but he never raised his voice. He was very subtle and followed orders well.

“He was a quiet and unassuming person who learned the trade of a mechanic and was pursuing a full-fledged engineering career.

“Nikko was well loved by many people — he had a spirit of his own that was unique to Nikko, especially because of his size. He was calm and mild.”

Mr Thompson said Mr Robinson-Woodley had been attached to the Department for four years.

His mother works in administration there, he added, while his father, known by the nickname “Apples”, is employed as a welder and mechanic.

“I coached Nikko along the way — I was very interested in how he was doing and tried my best to assist him as his mentor,” Mr Thompson said. “He will be sorely missed by all of us.”

Also joining condolences last night was Lawrence Scott, Shadow Minister of Transport, who said he was “deeply saddened” to hear of Mr Robinson-Woodley’s passing.

“On behalf of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party, I would like to extend our prayers, sympathy and support to his family and friends during this time of bereavement,” he said.