A surreal death scene of teddy bears and tire tracks

Torontosun.com
May 19, 2021
Joe Warmington

In a bid to make sense of a deadly nightmare, people in tears put teddy bears on the very tire tracks made by an out-of-control car that killed two children.

However, no matter how many flowers mourners pile at this horrific death scene, it will not soften the pain felt by those living on this suburban street.

Yet the hundreds of bouquets, stuffed animals, poems and angels were doing their best to let this family know a community is hurting along with them.

It’s a surreal scene in the heart of a beautiful street of luxury homes -- a place that should be perfect for raising children.

But danger can happen anywhere and life is fleeting. It can be taken away in an instant. It happened here.

Two children, Anaya, 10, and her brother Jax, 4, were on the driveway at their Athabasca Dr. home on Sunday when they were struck by a fast-moving black Mercedes that went off the road, hitting the children and a neighbour who was helping to fix a bike.

While both children died in hospital, the neighbour underwent surgery and is expected to recover.

There’s nothing that can be done, or said, to console the children’s parents who had no possible way of preventing such a tragedy.

As the grief-stricken father left his home Tuesday, he made an offering to his deceased children by placing food, milk and a hairbrush on the spot they were taken.

Neighbours describe the children as bringing smiles and laughter to the street.

“It’s so senseless,” said Fana Romas, who came to the growing memorial to pay her respects. “Something has to be done about speeding in residential areas. This should not have happened.”

A 16-year-old boy has been charged by York Regional Police with a variety of offences including two counts of criminal negligence causing death. Canada’s youth justice system does not allow his name to be published.

He will be in court Wednesday. It’s unclear where he lives but residents say the teen indicated he was in the area visiting a girlfriend.

Police detectives are doing an analysis of the car and were canvassing the neighbourhood in the Dufferin St.-Major MacKenzie Blvd. area to gather video evidence. Videos show the car was travelling at a fast rate of speed, just seconds before striking the three victims.

Posting their picture to Facebook, Palkesh Chaudhari wrote “unexpected loss of my nephew Jax and niece Anaya. RIP … You’ll forever be in our hearts.”

The family released a statement -- through police -- saying “we are extremely traumatized by the tragic loss of our daughter and son. The past days have been extremely difficult for our family. We appreciate the prayers and thoughts of all those grieving with us.”

One of those grieving is father and grandfather Louis Duschesnay, who makes wooden angels to hand out to children at Christmas. He decided to drop a blue one and a pink one for the boy and girl.

“It was just so shocking,” he said.

In bringing flowers, area resident Bell Kaplun started to cry as she looked at the growing memorial.

“As a mother, I can feel their pain,” she said. “It’s just so awful.”

It’s a sentiment shared by every person who came to the scene, including children, friends and schoolmates.

Everyone was feeling the gut-wrenching punch of the horror of this situation.

This includes Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, who, like many, did not call this an accident but referred to it as a “reckless driving” incident.

“Two lives were taken too soon due to this senseless act,” tweeted Bevilacqua. “Losing a child is a pain no parent should ever have to experience … Sending prayers and strength to the family.”

So many are doing just that, knowing no matter how big the memorial gets, nothing can replace what was lost here.