Sylvia Bagarova said goodbye to her daughter Simona Bagarova Monday morning as the 17-year-old left for school, not knowing she would never see her again.
“She went to school and she didn’t come back. She’s never coming back,” said the grief-stricken mother through a Slovak translator.
It was only later in the afternoon when her daughter did not come home from Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute that she learned that Simona, one of four teenagers in the car and students at the Thorncliffe Park school, had been involved in a car crash. Simona was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Maybe if her friends didn’t pick her up, maybe she would be alive,” said Sylvia, referring to her daughter.
It was at 12:10 p.m. on Monday when the Mazda 3 Simona was a passenger in collided with a Beck taxi at the corner of Don Mills Road and Green Belt Drive, north of Eglinton Avenue East.
Police said the 43-year-old taxi driver was making a left turn onto Green Belt Drive from the southbound lanes of Don Mills Road. The 17-year-old driver of the Mazda was travelling northbound on Don Mills Road.
The two vehicles collided in the middle of the intersection, causing the Mazda to spin out of control. The Mazda struck a traffic signal pole before coming to a stop.
The driver and the two passengers of the Mazda were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the taxi remained at the scene. He was not injured.
Investigators with Toronto Police Traffic Services said there are two possible factors being investigated: speed and the taxi’s left turn movement. Surveillance video and the vehicles’ black boxes will help them determine who was at fault, and whether charges will be laid.
Bagarova said Simona was one of five children. The family came to Toronto in July 2018 as refugees. Two of the older children stayed behind in Slovakia but the three youngest children were beginning to enjoy life in Canada.
“Second of May, she would have been 18,” said the distraught mother.
Outside Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute, two boys — one clutching a bouquet of flowers — explained what they knew about the crash.
“He wasn’t speeding,” said a teen, referring to his friend who was the driver of the Mazda.
The teens said they went to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre to visit their friends Monday afternoon. Both the driver and Simona’s boyfriend remain in hospital with minor injuries.
The boys said they plan to go to the crash site to leave flowers for Simona.
A spokesperson with the Toronto District School Board said officials sent home a letter with students about Simona’s death.
“This has been a sombre day for all of us at the school as we mourn the tragic loss of a young life,” the letter said without naming Simona.
“This individual will be sorely missed by our students and staff.”
A support space was setup by the school and counsellors were being brought in.
Investigators said they would like to hear from anyone who may have dash-cam video of the area or the incident to contact them.
— With files from Gabby Rodrigues
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