Image: INQUIRER.net Stock Photo
An empty SUV slammed into a father and his 5-year-old daughter in Toronto, Canada, killing the young girl, a cancer survivor, before she could go home from school.
Police identified the girl as Camila de Almeida Torcato, a kindergartener at St. Raphael Catholic School in North York, CTV News reported.
Her 42-year-old father was picking her up at about 3 p.m., and as the two were getting into their Mercedes-Benz SUV, a Hyundai Sante Fe SUV rolled toward them, subsequently pinning them between the two vehicles.
Camila suffered critical injuries and died a few hours after being admitted to the hospital. Her father had non-life threatening injuries and was also treated in a hospital.
The Hyundai SUV belonged to a mother who parked it up the street and walked toward the school. Police said the vehicle was “unoccupied and the gear engaged.”
The girl had been in remission after being diagnosed with cancer at 3 and having a tumor removed from her kidney.
Image: GoFundMe
A family friend, Ana Paula Carrera, described Camila fondly: “She has a beautiful soul, a beautiful heart.” She said the family was grieving over the tragic loss.
Carrera also set up a GoFundMe page to assist the family through the devastating tragedy. The effort has already raised over $22,000 (P1.1 million).
City councillor Maria Augimeri noted that the freak accident could have been avoided as there are signs on where parents cannot park on the street.
“We did what the parents wanted us to do. What the school community wanted us to do. And parents still, at every school and every day, morning and afternoon, don’t pay attention to the signs that we put up,” she said.
A memorial outside the school includes stuffed animals and flowers littered in the snow. Students and staff will also set up a memorial table inside the school. Niña V. Guno /ra
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