STONEHAM — The grandmother of a teen who died after the SUV she was driving crashed here early Sunday remembered her as an aspiring nurse and “an excellent musician’’ — who was also “a very conscientious driver.’’

“We did not expect that this would ever happen,’’ said Patty Coiro, 59, of Revere.

Her granddaughter Sydney Coiro was an honor student at Stoneham High School and worked at Bear Hill Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Stoneham, she said. She had one older sister, who lives in Seattle, the grandmother said.

“She was a compassionate, loving, very beautiful soul,’’ Patty Coiro said by phone, as her voice broke. “And our loss is tremendous. She was very well loved.’’

State Police did not identify the victim because she was a juvenile, according to Dave Procopio, a spokesman for the department, but said in a statement that a 16-year-old was declared dead at the scene after the 2000 Ford Explorer she was driving overturned on Pond Street. The SUV was found around 12:45 a.m.

Stoneham police said the teen crashed on a mile-long stretch of Pond Street in the Middlesex Fells.

Coiro said her granddaughter had dropped off friends and was heading home at the time of the crash. The family believes it was a “freak accident’’ that was likely caused by roads slick from Saturday night’s rain, Coiro said.

At the scene of the crash, near the back of the Stoneham Zoo parking lot, balloons and flowers were wrapped around a tree, along with a photo of Sydney Coiro and three other girls.

Standing beside the memorial on Sunday afternoon, Janice Landry, a Stoneham resident and mother of one of Sydney Coiro’s classmates, said she learned about the crash from her daughter, who had driven past the scene.

In the morning, she received a robocall telling her the news.

“I’m upset. I’m feeling the same grief,’’ Landry said.

Landry said her son took driver’s education with Coiro in November. She said the section of road where the crash took place is dangerous because of its many curves.

Eddy Moreira, 18, of Woburn, said his cousin was good friends with Sydney Coiro and had been with her and a third friend Saturday night on a trip to Boston before the crash. He said he had spoken to the girls on FaceTime while they were out. Reached by phone, his cousin declined an interview.

Moreira said he had worked with Coiro in the kitchen at the rehabilitation center for more than a year and that she had an infectious sense of humor.

“She was very funny,’’ he said.

“She would always pop jokes or say something funny after someone said something. She was always laughing and joking around with everyone.’’

Moreira said Coiro had gotten to know the residents at the facility and their medical conditions, and would go out of her way to give them special treats within the bounds of their dietary restrictions.

“A lot of the residents were really thankful for everything she did,’’ he said.

He said he hopes to create some kind of tribute to her at the rehabilitation facility, “just to live with her memory and show the impact she had on everyone.’’

Moreira said Coiro’s favorite musician was the rapper Mac Miller, and he will think of her anytime he hears Miller’s music. He considered her “a true friend,’’ he said.

“Me and Sydney were kind of close, so it’s like wow, it’s really hitting me,’’ he said of the loss.

“She’ll be missed. ... A father lost a daughter, a mother lost a daughter … but we also lost a good friend.’’

Andrew O’Neil, 18, a former co-worker at the facility, also recalled Coiro’s “great sense of humor.’’

“She was extremely friendly with all the residents that were there and always had a smile on her face,’’ O’Neil said.

“She would talk to them, get them to smile, and give compliments to them. ... She would help anyone that needed help.’’

He recalled a time that he had come to work in a foul mood and Coiro made a project of cheering him up.

“She just got me to smile and laugh,’’ he said.

“She made my mood a lot better and showed me the true meaning of what friendship was supposed to be.’’

Globe correspondent Bret Hauff contributed to this report. Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeremycfox. Aimee Ortiz can be reached at aimee.ortiz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @aimee_ortiz.