Family, friends mourn Lynnway victim

LYNN – Nancy Syvongsa-Ma tearfully clutched a folder filled with photos of her son, who was killed Friday in a horrific accident on the Lynnway, as friends and family constructed a shrine in his memory.Nicknamed “Panda,” Edward Ma, 23, of 51 Warren St., was known to his friends and family as a lovable guy who was always there to help those in a jam or to make them smile.”I keep wishing he (Edward) will walk in the door, but I’m finally realizing that Eddy is not coming back,” Ma said.Edward was sitting in the backseat of a 1998 Honda Civic when a flat-bed tow truck carrying an SUV plowed into the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Civic’s driver, Ronnie Huon, 22, of Lynn and front seat passenger, Cassandra Pok, 18, of Lynn, were able to get out of the Civic and were transported to Salem Hospital.State Police spokesman David Procopio said Huon has since been cited for operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license.Procopio said the preliminary investigation indicates the Civic was stopped at a red light on the southbound side of the Lynnway at Harding Street, when it was struck from behind by the tow truck, operated by Derek Gallien, 23, of Peabody and owned by G&J Towing of Revere.Both vehicles caught fire upon impact. The backseat of the Civic, where Edward was sitting, was completely destroyed, along with the trunk. Gallien was not injured in the crash.Friends say Edward, a 2005 graduate of Lynn Tech, previously worked as a mechanic at Pep Boys and loved to tinker with his and his friends’ vehicles.In shock over his big brother’s death, Jimmy Ma, 18, and his friends are keeping busy amidst their grief by constructing the shrine in his parents’ garage, which will be filled with pictures and located next to Edward’s beloved green Honda.”The one joy he had was fixing up cars and driving them around,” Jimmy said. “He had a lot of friends, everybody loved him.”Nancy said recalled her son’s humor with a smile.”I was very close with him, he’s always been a great kid,” she said. “He was so lovable and had so many friends, what’s not to love about Eddy?”Nancy said her son will be buried in a cemetery in Randolph, where his grandmother, whom he adored, is buried. A funeral will be held in Boston.Procopio said he could not release the victim’s name prior to the completion of a forensic exam. He also said while charges have not been filed against Gallien, they are also not being ruled out. An investigation into the cause of the crash remains ongoing.An employee of G&J Towing declined to comment on the accident.