"He was the love of my life. He was my life."

That was the heartbreaking thought running through Kirby Philip's mind as she faced the loss of her boyfriend Chris Alves, who died in a bike crash on Thursday night.

Mr. Alves, 25, is the ninth person killed on Bermuda's roads this year and the third in the past week. According to the Police, his motorcycle hit the back of a parked truck on Knapton Hill in Smith's around 10 p.m. He suffered serious head injuries, and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

Leading tributes to him yesterday, Miss Philip, his girlfriend for the past six years, said: "Whenever he was around a group of friends or there was a gathering he would always be the guy who livened up the place, like the jokester. He was a big guy but a real sweetheart. He would drop anything to help a friend and would put everyone else before him."

Miss Philip, 25, said she didn't know much about the circumstances of the crash, but understands that Mr. Alves was killed instantly. He was en route from one friend's house to another, and was only 100 yards from his destination when he crashed. Her phone rang with the bad news soon afterwards.

The couple first met at a party after her school prom when she was 16 years old. "I happened to be looking good, according to him," she recalled. "Strangely enough, a couple of years later or so his next door neighbour and best friend said 'I know someone I can introduce you to.' And it was me. He was my best friend."

Miss Philip said her boyfriend was someone who was honest with people, and would always "be real about things".

She added: "He always appreciated life, and never took it for granted. His biggest ambition was having a family and getting a house. He would always work hard for everything."

Mr. Alves attended Whitney Institute and then CedarBridge Academy, graduating in 2000. He was a keen squash player in his younger days.

A few years ago, he went away to Houston, Texas, for school where he learned to spray paint bikes and cars. He was working as a truck driver for M&M Excavation for just under a year prior to his death.

Stanley Carreiro knew Mr. Alves through his role as Operations Manager for M&M Construction, another branch of the company. He explained that the young man was known to all as "Unit 29" which was his call sign on their two-way radios.

"Everyone got along with him. He was a great employee and a great kid very funny and he always looked on the bright side of things. He would drop everything to help a friend or colleague. Everyone here's very sad and pretty quiet today," he said.

Mr. Alves lived with his family in Pembroke.

He leaves his father Sammy and mother Mary-Jane, and younger sister Linda. His older brother Paul is paraplegic through spina bifida and is a candidate for the Bermuda Paralympic team.

A Police spokesman said the fatal collision occurred near the junction with Spanish Heights Road. Mr. Alves was heading west when his bike collided with the truck.

"Mr. Alves sustained serious head injuries and was treated at the scene by EMTs before being rushed to KEMH via ambulance. However, he succumbed to his injuries a short time later and was pronounced dead by an on call physician at 10:20pm," explained the spokesman.

"Traffic was diverted away from the scene for at least an hour following the collision. Inquiries into this incident are ongoing"

The spokesman appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident or has information about it to contact PC Ian Taitt on 295-0011.