The untimely death of 23-year-old Laura Paffenholz in a tragic motorcycle accident on Saturday evening has left her family and friends shocked, with many among the German community in Malta reeling from the loss.

“She was the kind of person that you could just go up to and talk to her without even knowing her, just start chatting as she always had a big smile on her face,” a friend of hers told Lovin Malta. “She was loved by all that knew her and she will be sorely missed.”

Having spoken to her on Saturday just hours before the tragic accident, her friend couldn’t believe that Laura had passed away, not believing it was her until her name began being mentioned in news reports

Laura tragically died after the motorcycle she was riding pillion on reportedly encountered gravel in the middle of a road near Addolorata Cemetery. Her Maltese boyfriend who was driving the motorcycle reportedly lost control of the vehicle and Laura was run over by a lorry at around 10:45pm. She was certified dead on the scene.

Her death came just a day prior to another two women losing their lives on the Maltese roads in one of the most tragic weekends Malta’s seen in a while.

Laura, who worked for a gaming company, was from the German town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, and had been living in Malta for about 11 months. She had been in a relationship with her Maltese boyfriend, a police officer from ?ejtun, for about six months.

Other friends have taken to social media to express their condolences

While others have questioned whether the Maltese roads could be blamed for the accident

RIP Laura

Johnathan Cilia

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]