Some hours after the four family members were buried, the police alleged that a 20-year-old man was on high speed when he hit and killed a mother and her three daughters.
Peel Regional Police alleged that Brady Robertson of Caledon, Ontario was driving at “a very high rate of speed” when he hit a Volkswagen that was carrying Karolina Ciasullo, 37, and her daughters; Klara, 6, Lilianna, 3, and Mila, 1.
Robertson is facing four counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, and one count of dangerous operation related to another incident in Caledon two days earlier. He will be in court for a bail hearing on July 23.
Relatives of the Ciasullo family converged at the St. Eugene de Mazenod Catholic church in Brampton, Ontario to pay last respect to the four victims whose deaths have generated an outpour of grief in the community.
Ciasullo’s sister-in-law in a tearful eulogy said she would miss the hours the duo spent on the phone to plan holidays together as well as stealing hugs from her nieces and listening to their voices.
Connie Ciasullo said those memories will “play like a movie in my mind forever” and described her sister-in-law as “the glue that held everything together.”
While her voice was breaking, she said: “Despite the pain and heartache we feel, we were blessed to have had these beautiful souls in our life.
“And while we’ll never know why these beyond beautiful lives were taken from this Earth so soon, we do know they will never be taken from our hearts, or our minds, or our prayers.”
The service was not open to the public but was streamed live with the audio played on loudspeakers outside the building.
Photos that were shared on social media showed a scattered crowd outside the church. Some were standing while others were sitting in folding chairs to listen to the memorial.
Inside the church, four white caskets were laid before the altar as mourners spread out in the pews in a bid to comply with social distancing guidelines with some wearing black facemasks.
Also, Ontario’s police watchdog is looking into the fatal collision.
The Special Investigations Unit has disclosed that a Peel Regional Police officer had “observed” one of the cars involved in the crash before the incident.
The SIU said investigation is “ongoing.”
An online fundraiser for the family had raised over $390,000 for the family with many donations coming in while the funeral service was on.
