SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah – Fancy cars have a way of making people stop and stare.
The more expensive, the more looks. Even a leather-clad biker who calls himself “Doc” appreciates them.
“Those cars are pretty nice,” he said looking at a bunch of them parked outside a high-end auto detailing business in South Salt Lake. “I asked if I can trade in my bike and take the lambo out today.”
Lambo as in Lamborghini. Yes, there were a few of those, too. However, even with all these cars, this wasn’t a car show.
“It’s not your typical funeral,” said Doc.
That’s right. Funeral. And 11-year-old Karma Maestas would’ve loved it.
“Karma, she didn’t want us to mourn her. She wanted us to have a party, have fun, laugh,” said Crystal McBride, who is Karma’s mother.
McBride spoke to her daughter about what she wanted for her funeral when it became clear the cancer was just too much.
“She’s like, I don’t want people to wear black or those lines where you have to stand there and shake people’s hands. That’s boring. She wasn’t boring at all,” said McBride.
That’s why this funeral included fast cars and bikes, as well as loud music, dancing mascots, and even the Grim Reaper standing next to her casket.
It certainly wasn’t boring.
“She’s probably over there laughing,” said McBride with a grin.
As for the fast cars, McBride also says there’s a good reason why Karma wanted them at her funeral.
It’s not because they look good; it’s because, for Karma, they made her feel good.
“I think it’s when you get into a fast car, you get a rush and you’re free for just a split second. And with Karma having cancer and stuff, there’s a lot of times where she wasn’t free,” said her mother. “She was trapped into an illness she couldn’t get out of, but driving in that car for a split second, she could be free.”
That’s where “Cruise For Karma” comes from. Many cars had stickers of that phrase on them. It’s what helped unite many of the people here while raising money to help other children fighting cancer.
“Words can’t even express what the community has done. And for Karma, at 11, to be able to unite a whole community is amazing,” said McBride.
That community of racers, bikers, mascots, and everyone in between, came together to celebrate a young girl who left us way too soon.
But, she left with a funeral no one here will ever forget.
Her purple casket was even put in a glass walled trailer, towed by a bike, with a procession that included Harley’s, fancy cars, and even police officers.
“She’s probably just saying, ‘Mom, you did a good job’,” said McBride.
Go Fund Me link: