Dozens of people attended a candlelight vigil near Hanna, Alta., on Tuesday in honour of three children killed in a highway crash last week.
Eleven-month-old Emnet, 11-year-old Christian and 16-year-old Blen were travelling in an SUV with their parents, which collided with a semi-truck in the intersection of Highway 36 and Highway 570 on Aug. 16.
Their mother, Meseret Shiferaw, was airlifted to the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary STARS Air Ambulance while their father, Solomon Adugna, was transported via ground ambulance. The children were pronounced dead at the scene.
The couple live in Spokane, Wash. They had visited a relative in Saskatoon, Sask., and were travelling to Calgary to visit a friend when the crash happended.
On Tuesday, members of Calgary’s Ethiopian community used a rental bus to travel to a location near the crash site where the vigil was held.
Vigil organizer Zelalem Meshesha said the event shows the whole community has been touched by the crash.
“We have been in contact with the family since they’ve been at the Foothills hospital.”
“We’re mourning with them. The whole community is mourning with them,” he said. “We all are standing together to support this family at this time.”
“The community is coming together. We’re trying to support this family.”
“People are saddened by the situation and what happened in Alberta,” he added.
Shiferaw joined the group to travel to the crash site and attend the vigil.
A GoFundMe account has been set up online for those wishing to help the couple pay to transport their children’s bodies back home.