The three siblings killed in a suspected impaired driving crash in Etobicoke were remembered at a memorial mass on Thursday morning.
Family members, as well as students and teachers at the Canadian Martyrs Catholic School, where the three children attended, gathered at the adjacent church for the mass.
“The service was beautiful,” their aunt Jenelle Galve told CTV News Toronto following the mass. “Those kids deserved to have a beautiful service.”
She thanked the school staff for organizing the mass.
“We all came as a collective because we believe that these kids … they deserve justice, and us coming together as a community shows that we are strong enough to deal with what comes next,” an emotional Galve said.
The three children, a 15-year-old boy, his 13-year-old brother and his six-year-old sister, cannot be identified due to a court-ordered publication ban.
Galve shared that the youngest loved doing cartwheels during recess and “made all the kids happy.” The 13-year-old was remembered as being “very competitive” in basketball, while the eldest was known as a leader, she added.
Galve said the support they’ve received is helping the family heal.
“We are grieving. We’re all grieving together for the loss of the children. Nothing can explain the loss that we have,” she said.
Galve shared that the children’s mother and their 10-year-old sibling remain in the hospital recovering.
She previously told CTV News that the family, along with the mother’s 40-year-old boyfriend, was coming home from watching fireworks in Milton when the crash occurred early Sunday morning.
Police said a 19-year-old man driving a Dodge Caravan was allegedly travelling at a high rate of speed as he exited Highway 401 on Renforth Drive and lost control, colliding with the family’s Chrysler Pacifica, which was stopped at a red light.
The driver, who is from Georgetown, was arrested and charged with a dozen offences, including impaired driving and dangerous driving.
Near the scene, flowers have been placed at a growing memorial.
“It’s one of the worst tragedies,” said retired teacher Tammi Upshaw, who attended Thursday’s mass. She knew the 15-year-old boy.
“It’s just so sad … to lose three of your children at one time. Very sad.”
With files from CTV Toronto’s Mike Walker
