The father of the girl killed by a CTrain in south Calgary on Monday told Global News his daughter wasn’t walking to school alone when she was struck.
“That’s not true: she doesn’t go to school by herself,” Jeff Ogbeide said Tuesday. “My daughter always gets picked up by the school bus every morning.”
“My children are our angels,” he added. “We are not bad parents. We didn’t let our little girl walk to school by herself.”
Ogbeide said his wife was getting their children ready for school Monday morning. By the time she came back downstairs with her backpack, six-year-old Efua Ogbeide was gone.
“I don’t really know what happened,” Jeff said. “It’s just something that we can’t really comprehend.”
“I work graveyard shifts so we can be with our kids,” Ogbeide said of his and his wife’s rotating schedules. “We love them.”
WATCH: Calgary father Jeff Ogbeide says his daughter was not walking to school alone on Monday morning when she was hit and killed by a CTrain.
Efua was hit by the train shortly before 8 a.m. Monday morning near the Somerset-Bridlewood LRT Station. She was rushed to hospital where she later died from her injuries.
Ogbeide said he is grateful for the outpouring of support from the community in the days since the accident.
“For the memorial being put out there by all the Good Samaritans around Calgary, on behalf of my family, we do really appreciate it,” he said.
“Please, I beseech you all to keep praying for my family, that God should give us the strength to continue,” he added.
“My daughter, she’s an angel, a princess. It’s going to be a big punch losing such a beautiful promising young lady.”
WATCH: Calgary police have confirmed a young girl struck and killed by a CTrain on Monday was not walking to school alone. Jill Croteau reports.
Police clarification
Initially, police said Efua was struck while walking to school alone on Monday. Investigators clarified on Tuesday that she wasn’t walking to school, but declined to provide further comment on the investigation.
“When she attempted to cross the tracks she, unfortunately, got confused because lights and arms started to sound as she was crossing,” Sgt. Chris Agren said on Monday. “The driver observed her as well and did sound the horn in an attempt to get her to clear the track as he tried to slow the train down.”
WATCH: After a six-year-old girl died this week in a Ctrain crash, a Calgary city councillor is calling for more safety reviews. Christa Dao reports.
School response
Officials with the Calgary Catholic School District confirmed Efua attended St. Jude School in the community of Woodbine and that counsellors were brought in Tuesday to help students and staff deal with the tragedy.
“A letter was sent home to families,” Joanna French, a spokeswoman for the school district, said. “We would just let them know of an incident that took place and to keep the family in their thoughts and prayers.”
She wouldn’t say what grade the girl was in for privacy reasons.
French said members of the district’s critical incident response team were sent to the school to provide counselling for any students or staff struggling with what happened.
“We’re offering our support,” she said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family.
– With files from The Canadian Press