Mother mourns 'loving' son who was victim in fatal boating incident

The mother of a young man killed in a boating incidentis remembering her son for his loving nature and dedication to his dream of becoming an airline pilot.

Jacqueline Mina said she's "travelling a road nobody wants to travel" six days after her son, Miguel Vincent Mina Estrada, died following a boating incidentoff the shore of the eastern New Brunswick communityof Richibucto.

"This is very tragic," Mina saidin a phone interview.

"It's something that a parent like me would never everexpect to happen."

RCMPsaid they got a call at about 6:15 p.m. last Saturday about an individual who had been struck by a boat.

The 19-year-old Estrada, from Saint-Louis-de-Kent, died at the scene, the RCMP said in anews release the next day.

RCMP spokespersons said little about the tragedy at the time and have not responded to multiple requests for information about how it occurred.

Mina said she was not with her son when he died, so she did not want to talk about what happened.

A new life inNew Brunswick

Estradaand his 15-year-old brother moved to New Brunswick from the Philippines in 2021, joining their mother, who'd moved to the province a few years earlier.

Mina said Estrada loved New Brunswick and settled into his new life as a student at Bonar Law Memorial High School in Rexton.

He graduated last yearand had set his sights onfulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming an airline pilot.

"[He] never changed his plan, never changed his dream," Mina said. "And once he puts his heart in it, he will work hard for it, and I was just there to support him.

"I mean, his dream is my dream. There's nothing more a mom or a parent would dream rather than to see their son become successful of what they wanted to become, right?"

Mina said her son had been attending Moncton Flight College, an expensive pursuit, but one she was fully on board with.

"I said, 'I'll be with you all the way,'"she said, remembering how she quelled his concerns about the tuition cost.

She said her son imagined himself eventually working for an international airline, and at the same time, branching out into real estate investment.

With his careerambitions came a softer side, which Mina said was reflectedin the way he treated her, his younger brother, and his friends.

"He was such a very loving kid.Very, very loving kid," Mina said.

"I will never forget my son."

A funeral is planned for 11 a.m. on Monday at the Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague Roman Catholic Church in Richibucto.