WATCH ABOVE: While police are looking for more witnesses in the crash that claimed the life of 22-year-old Shiloh Johnston, her friends are trying to cope with the loss. Leigh Kjekstad reports.
The last messages Shiloh Johnston left on her Facebook wall were about her younger sister Keziah, who died suddenly on February 7 of yet to be confirmed causes.
“I don’t know if there was a person I loved more on this planet than my beautiful sister,” wrote Shiloh.
“She’s no longer here to make you laugh..or sit with you while you cry…to encourage us, to persevere with us, to fight for us and for herself,” she wrote.
The two were roommates, “inseparable” and optimistic about their futures. Shiloh, 22 years old, worked at Centura Tile, while 20-year-old Keziah had just finished an esthetician program.
Now, family and friends are coming to grips with both of them being gone.
Burnaby RCMP announced today that Shiloh was the victim in last week’s two-car accident, struck by a car that flew into a power pole when she was standing at the southwest corner of Canada Way at Gardner Court. Police say she was thrown a substantial distance by the car, and they’re looking to speak with any witnesses of the crash.
Police are looking for the drivers of two vehicles shown in surveillance video. One is a red vehicle and the other is a black pickup truck. Police believe the drivers of those vehicles would shed some light on driver behaviour leading up to the accident since it’s believed speed may have been a factor in the incident.
The death, coming just 10 days after Keziah’s passing, has shocked the family.
“It’s been really difficult, especially for her mom. She lost both daughters,” says Amanda Kaliyani Masih, a close friend of Shiloh’s.
Jacquie Johnston, the mother of the two girls, had gone to Mexico to grieve in the immediate aftermath of her daughter Keziah’s death. Jacquie’s sister flew down to Mexico after Shiloh’s death, so she could deliver the news in person.
“Jacquie’s doing as well as can be expected. She’s still in a lot of shock,” says Janica Lucas, their cousin. “She’s doing alright.”
WATCH: Amanda Masih, a close friend and coworker of Johnston’s, remembers the tragic day.
Because the two are being cremated, the family has set up a gofundme page to help pay for a memorial bench where both of them can be remembered. All additional funds will go towards charities they were passionate about. You can donate to the fund, which reached over $5,000 in the first 24 hours, here.
“We’re just trying to focus on the positivity,” says Masih. “Obviously it’s been extremely difficult, but we want to remember the legacy they left behind.”
Shiloh’s last public message was about the Celebration of Life the family was planning for Keziah on March 7.
Now it will be for both of them.
“The girls are together now,” says Masih.
“They’re not in any pain.”
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