Family mourns loss of 26-year-old son after crash in downtown Toronto – Toronto | Globalnews.ca

Gregory Nathan Girgis had finished work and was walking to the gym shortly before midnight on Canada Day when he was struck by the driver of the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

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Girgis, 26, suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, at University Avenue and Wellington Street, where seven other people were injured.

Nitan Thakur, the driver of the Jeep, which allegedly collided with two other cars and another pedestrian, was arrested by the police.

“It wasn’t an accident… you can’t say it’s an accident,” said Avril Higginson, Girgis’s mother. “My son died, Gregory died, he was taken from all of us… I am beyond heartbroken.”

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Police said Thakur, 26, ran a red light at the intersection.

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“He was well liked by his friends, he was a sincere person and would help anyone,” Atef Girgis, Gregory’s father, told Global News.

Girgis’s youngest son, Victor, returned home from work in the early hours of Saturday morning to find Toronto police officers waiting at the door. They gave the terrible news. “I haven’t slept since then,” his mother said.

“I couldn’t believe it,” his father said. “We are going to miss it”.

About 100 people stopped at the crash site, where Girgis’s family shed tears and told stories about the person they lost. They remembered him as a kind, hard-working and adventurous young man.

The scene of Friday night’s devastation has been transformed, with flowers and a memorial on Saturday to replace the wreckage that came earlier.

At one point, Girgis’s father knelt down and scooped up the sand that authorities had left there, remembering where his son died.

“His soul is a very funny soul; she loved to travel,” said her older sister, Sarra Muñoz. “I would pave the way and then he would follow me on my travels around the world, but then he replaced me and traveled to many more countries than I did, a globetrotter at heart.”

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Thakur, the driver, is scheduled to appear in court on Saturday. He faces six charges, including faulty operation causing death, dangerous driving causing death and faulty operation causing bodily harm.

For the family whose lives have been shattered by the incident, it is unthinkable that someone could get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking.

“You have Uber, you have taxis, call a friend, have a designated driver,” Higginson said. “It’s tragic, he shouldn’t have gone because of the negligence of a drunk driver.”

Gregory’s father, like the rest of his family, is missing.

“I don’t know, I don’t know how I feel. People make big mistakes and someone always pays the price,” said Atef Girgis. “I don’t believe in revenge, it was just an idiot who made a wrong decision… it’s sad, it’s sad.”

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.


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