Budding artist Stephanie Dees, 26, had moved out three months ago to start a new life.

But a night out in Manhattan ended in tragedy when she and her American friend Ann Sullivan, also 26, were both killed.

The pair had been out for a meal at a pizza restaurant.They were crossing 14th Street on 1st Avenue, a busy intersection, when they were struck by a taxi at 3.20am on Saturday. Stephanie, pictured on the front page, was then thrown into the path of another cab and hit for a second time. She was killed instantly. Her friend, Ann, died later in hospital.

The girls had been having a good time in the pizza restaurant that evening, according to eyewitnesses. Moments before they were killed they had been playfully taking pictures of a customer who had fallen asleep at a table.

Family and friends of Stephanie, who had just completed a BA Honours degree in fine art at Sheffield University, are struggling to come to terms with her sudden death.

Parents Anthony, 62, and Denise, 55, from Alton Road, in West Meon, near Petersfield, described their daughter as a 'bubbly, fun-loving girl'. Mrs Dees said: 'Stephanie only moved to New York in August and was having a fantastic time. She was about to start up her own art school and had already made plenty of friends and had a boyfriend.

'I only spoke to her on the internet on Wednesday and she was her usual happy self.

'Stephanie was adored for her fun personality by everyone who knew her. Her motto was to love life 100 per cent.'

Stephanie also leaves a brother Timothy, 20, and sister Mallary, 23. Mallary said: 'She was a best friend and was someone who was always smiling. She put people at ease and made me think the best of myself.'

Taxi driver Jean Dorismond, who hit Stephanie, told the New York Post: 'The other car hit them first and threw her into my windshield. I thought someone had thrown something at my windshield.

'My light was green. The other guy's light was green, too. I didn't see them at all.'