By Keith Howard

Pauline Darilus’ family and friends last week stood less than 30 feet away from the skid marks that signal where the BMW Darilus was a passenger in veered off course March 21 and crashed into a nearby home causing her death.

On the Fellsway in Malden, mourners huddled together for warmth and comfort, struggling to protect their candles from the wind and, collectively, remembered Darilus as a lovable character with a big heart.

“She would always force me to dance. She was the life of the party. When nobody was dancing, she starts the party,” said Jessica Masse, a friend since the 7th grade.

Within two hours, a nearby tree was swallowed in pictures, flowers and stuffed animals. Traces of purple, Darilus’ favorite color, decorated a cross that bore two dates: her birth and her departure.

The 18-year-old Somerville girl died after she was ejected from Jean M. Olivier’s car at 4:30 a.m. Olivier, 22, also died in the crash but Darilus’ friend and Olivier’s sister Rachel survived. Authorities said speed may have been a factor in the crash.

At Wednesday’s memorial more than 50 of Darilus’ family and friends recalled her smile and the pride she expressed, sometimes creatively, in being a young Haitian woman.

“She was just a really lively outgoingerson,” said a cousin, Genevieve Bien-Aime. “She had the biggest, biggest smile.”

With her family, Darilus traveled the globe to England, Florida, Canada and Europe.

“But she would defend Haiti before any other country,” said her father Zando. “She liked to carry that flag.”

Darilus made sure to get ‘Haiti’ airbrushed onto a pair of jeans before dancing in Boston’s Caribbean parade two years ago. Her knack for flamboyance and natural charm gave her father confidence in her dream of one day becoming a chef and opening her own restaurant, he said.

On a typical afternoon, Darilus would pick her younger brothers up from the Boys and Girls Club on Washington Street and take them home to make lasagna, spaghetti or her special pizza. ‚ÄúShe loved cooking. Even when she doesn’t like [eating] food that much,‚Äù he said.

Two weeks ago when Helene Francis got an invitation for a plate of Haitian rice, she never stopped to think it would be the last time she heard from her niece. ‚ÄúI’m very hurt by her accident,‚Äù she said. ‚ÄúShe was a sensitive, soft-hearted [person]. She liked to party, [listen to] reggae-songs [and] she liked to dance. I miss her very much.‚Äù