Eighteen-year-old Bianca Mathurin, the last remaining female survivor of the tragic Shirley Street collision that claimed five lives, has successfully secured the $8,000 in fundraising needed for her life-saving surgery, as the young woman continues her extended recovery from severe injuries in a Nassau hospital. The devastating crash unfolded at the busy intersection of Shirley Street and Church Street, when the 19-year-old driver of the eight-person Mazda sedan lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a stationary tree. Five passengers were killed instantly, identified as 19-year-olds Keno Gordon Jr, Betrica Brown, Evalena Johnson and Stania Webb, plus 17-year-old Diamond Stubbs. Only two people walked away from the wreckage: Mathurin and 21-year-old Shawn Thurston, both of whom remain hospitalized as they work to heal from their life-altering injuries. Prior to her initial procedure, public appeals for blood donations were issued to support Mathurin, who suffered critical damage to her legs and pelvis. Details shared through those appeals revealed that Mathurin had recently graduated high school, and had just transitioned out of the Ranfurly Home for Children into one of the organization’s transitional housing units, preparing to begin her journey as an independent young adult. As the entire nation continues to mourn the lives lost in the crash and follow updates on the survivors’ recoveries, the community rallied around Mathurin, pushing the online fundraising campaign over its $8,000 target in short order. Despite this outpouring of support, one of Mathurin’s long-time caregivers has spoken out against harmful misleading social media content that has claimed the 18-year-old has absolutely no family to turn to for support during her recovery, saying the false posts have caused deep pain to the relatives who have raised and cared for Mathurin for most of her life. Shavonne Stubbs, who was previously married to Mathurin’s maternal uncle, explained that she and her former husband took over primary care of Mathurin when she was just three months old, after her biological mother faced challenges that left her unable to care for all her children. According to Stubbs, Mathurin’s father, a Haitian-descent man who lived in the Bahamas, was eventually deported back to his home country, leaving the young child without his support. Stubbs shared that she and her ex-husband raised Mathurin on the island of Abaco for multiple years, before the pair separated. Stubbs then relocated with Mathurin to Grand Bahama, though Mathurin continued to return to Abaco every summer to stay connected to the community she grew up in. This care arrangement continued until Mathurin was 15 years old, when an incident in Abaco prompted the involvement of the country’s Department of Social Services, which ultimately placed Mathurin in the care of the Ranfurly Home for Children. Stubbs pushed back on the narrative that Mathurin grew up in the children’s home, noting: “She did not grow up in the home. This year was going to make three years that she been there, she’s 18-year-old now.” Stubbs confirmed that Mathurin’s biological mother still resides in Abaco, and explained that she never completed a formal adoption of Mathurin because the legal process became insurmountable. With Mathurin’s father based in Haiti and her mother unable to provide the required legal paperwork, Stubbs could not finalize the adoption. She added that Mathurin’s biological mother has struggled for years with poverty and personal challenges, which has led to several of her children being removed from her care over time. Stubbs said she was stunned and deeply hurt by the online posts claiming Mathurin had no family, pointing out that Mathurin called her “Mummy” for most of her childhood, only switching to calling her “aunty” in recent years. To back up her claims, Stubbs shared personal photos with local newspaper The Tribune showing her alongside Mathurin throughout key moments of her childhood, as well as images from Mathurin’s high school graduation just last month, and screenshots of recent video calls the pair have shared while Mathurin recovers in the hospital. Stubbs also confirmed that Mathurin has an uncle based on New Providence who regularly visited her at the Ranfurly Home and provided what support he could to her throughout her time in the facility.