Calgary community raising money for parents of 3 children killed in tragic crash near Hanna, Alberta

Fundraising efforts are being made to help the parents of three children that were killed in a crash northeast of Calgary.

The community is fundraising to pay for the costs of transporting the bodies of the children home to the United States.

The family’s SUV collided with a semitrailer on at the intersection of Highway 36 and Highway 570.  The victims who died were the couple’s three children, a 16-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy and an 11-month-old girl.

READ MORE: Infant, 11-year-old and 16-year-old killed in ‘extremely tragic’ highway crash near Hanna

The mother, Meseret Shiferaw, was airlifted to the hospital by STARS Air Ambulance while the father, Solomon Adugna, was transported via ground ambulance.

They are now at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary recovering from their injuries.

Friends in Calgary estimated that it will cost up to $30,000 to transport the bodies of their children back to Spokane, Washington along the parents’ medical care.

Anwar Sultan, who is acting as the family’s spokesman, visited the parents at the Foothills Hospital yesterday.

In an online post Sultan stated:

“Most of you have heard about the tragic car accident in central Alberta, which claimed the lives of three beautiful Habesha children. The parents have survived the accident, and are now recovering at Foothills Hospital in Calgary. The parents along with the bodies of the deceased are scheduled to depart to Seattle on Wednesday. The estimated cost of transportation is $30,000.”

Sultan said a GoFundMe account has been set up online for people to donate to.

The family was visiting a relative in Saskatoon before driving back to their home in Spokane and were planning to stop in Calgary to visit a friend when the tragic crash happened.