Hanna's dream

Hanna Cini - a budding artist with a huge heart and a huge laugh - died early Friday evening at a Spokane hospital from injuries she sustained in a four-vehicle accident Thursday on Montana 35. She was 6 years old.

Hanna and her brother, Bayden, 3, were passengers in a Chevrolet Tahoe driven by their mother, Robin Cini, at about 8:20 a.m. Thursday. They were on their way to Fair-Mont-Egan School, where Hanna was a first-grader, when their vehicle was rear-ended.

Cini was headed west on Montana 35 when she signaled and slowed to turn south on Montford Road. Two vehicles behind her, the driver of a full-sized Ford pickup hauling a full-sized pickup on a trailer realized he wasn't going to stop in time.

The 54-year-old driver of the Ford swerved into the oncoming lane, sideswiping the Toyota Tundra in front of him and rear-ending Cini's Tahoe as she turned.

A fourth car, an eastbound Dodge Durango, struck Cini's vehicle broadside, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.

The 19-year-old driver of the Durango was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center with a broken leg.

Neither the driver of the Ford nor his female passenger were injured.

Bayden Cini was taken to Kalispell Regional on Thursday, but by Saturday he was fine, according to family friend Willa Manger. Robin Cini, who was checked out briefly Thursday and thought to have minor injuries, went back to the hospital Saturday, Manger said.

"She's really sore today. You can't hug her," Manger said. "This morning she was hardly able to walk."

Hanna's injuries were the most serious. She was airlifted Thursday morning to Sacred Heart Children's Hospital in Spokane.

She died there at 5:24 p.m. Friday, according to the Highway Patrol.

Although she was only 6, Hanna already was leaving her mark on the world. Manger said Hanna was an angel with a big laugh.

"This is how I picture Hanna … always laughing this terribly funny come-from-her-toes laugh," Manger said.

She also was an aspiring artist. After taking a field trip to the Hockaday Museum as a kindergartner, Hanna wrote, "I liked drawing. I like it because it teaches me how and I want to be an artist when I grow up."

Hanna seemed to understand that art had the power to make people happy, and she wanted other children to have the opportunity to express their creativity. Once, after seeing a television commercial about children living in poverty, then-5-year-old Hanna told her mother she wanted to do something to help.

Her answer came to her in a dream that night, Manger said.

"In her dream, she bought them all art supplies, and it made them happy," she said.

Robin Cini and her husband, Nigel, helped their daughter make her dream a reality. They formed Hanna's Dream, a nonprofit organization that collects art supplies for children in Third World countries.

According to the Hanna's Dream Web site, http://hdream.wordpress.com/, the organization made its first donation in October. Children in Solevu Village in Malolo, Fiji, received art supplies from Hanna's Dream.

The family hopes the children who receive those supplies might be able to sell some of their art in the United States to earn money for food, clothing and more art supplies, Manger said.

Although the little dreamer is gone, Hanna's organization will continue in memory of the girl who believed art could make other children happy. Hanna's family has started a collection site in Spokane, and another has been set up in California, where Robin Cini is from, Manger said.

Locally, people may donate art supplies at Fair-Mont-Egan School.

"We're hoping to get it huge," Manger said.

People who want to help the Cini family with their medical bills and expenses may do so at First Interstate Bank, where a memorial account will be set up Monday in Hanna's name.

Her memorial service will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Christian Center, 255 Summit Ridge Drive, in Kalispell. A reception will be afterward at the church.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.