Although they shared loving memories of their lost one, the family of 31-year-old Cory Llewelyn (Funza) Smith is still having difficulty coming to grips that he is dead.

Mr. Smith, of Tribe Road No.1, Pembroke, became Bermuda's first road fatality this year when he died August 31 after the motorcycle he was riding was in collision with a car on Verdmont Road in Smith's.

"On Friday afternoon I came home from work and Cory was there and, as usual, started playing with my children," said his sister, Carol. "He told my daughter Cassie that he was going out for a little while. Before he left, I told him to take his time on his bike.

"He said he would. That was the last time I saw him alive," she remembered as she broke down in tears.

Fighting her emotions, his mother, Rebecca, described her youngest child: "He was such a fun-loving person who was full of life."

Mrs. Smith told The Royal Gazette of one of her most fondest memories of her son.

"I'll never forget the time he got caught on the property of Teceira's gas station after closing time. He came running in the door and I asked him where he had been.

"`At Mrs. Woolridge's, mama,' he said. But when the Police came knocking on our door and told us something different, he knew he was going to get a wailing from his father," she said.

"But when they (Police) left, his daddy didn't even spank him," she said as she and family members laughed at the incident that happened many years ago.

"And when my daddy did try to hit him, Cory would always duck and we would all laugh at him," said his older sister, Claudia.

And that was the type of person that Mr. Smith was, said his mother, adding that Cory was someone who no matter how much he may have upset someone, he always managed to capture their heart.

"He would hug you up, rub your head, and say, `I'm sorry'," she said. "He would smile and it would grip your heart."

Mr. Smith was an avid sportsman who played both soccer and cricket for Devonshire Recreation Club.

"Cory loved all sports. Cricket, football, scrambling, you name it. But bikes and dogs were his love," she said.

And nothing brought more joy into his life than his children, Zjahquana, nine, Zjahfari, seven and baby Cory Jr. (CJ), ten months. "They were his everything," his sisters said.

"He loved spending time with them," Claudia said. "When his first two children were born, you would have thought that he was the mother because he did so much for them. He was so excited when he found out that his second son was going to be his namesake."

And, according to his family, he loved the children of his girlfriend, Tamala Dickinson, as much as he did his own.

"Skye and T'Nille are going to miss him," said Claudia. And so will his family.

"Although we know that he's gone, it's hard," said Mrs. Smith. "It's like he just hasn't been home."

"To not hear him come up here at three and four in the morning making a meal, and telling me to `Take it easy' - that's what I'm going to miss."

Mr. Smith's funeral will be held at St. Paul's AME on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Police investigating the road accident which claimed Mr. Smith's life are appealing for a second possible witness to come forward.

Police praised a man who was at the Speciality Inn at 6.50 a.m. on Saturday for coming forward immediately after hearing a television news broadcast last night.

It was believed that the man may have seen a male riding a red motorcycle from South Road onto Collector's Hill.

Mr. Smith, of Number One Tribe Road, Pembroke, was killed after his motorcycle collided with a car on Verdmont Road, Smith's Parish at around 6.45 a.m.

Police are now hoping to speak to a Portuguese man who was driving a blue truck up Collector's Hill between Hidden Valley Lane and Sayle Road around the time of the accident. The driver may have seen the motorcyle travelling north on Collector's Hill.

The driver is asked to contact P.c. Victor Fishington at 299-4245.