The victim of a deadly crash Saturday in Edmonton has been identified by friends as 39-year-old Pierre Farage.
“Pierre smiled all the time — helping everyone in the community, participating in all kinds of activities,” said Bassam Abdelmalek, who knew Farage through the St. Mary & St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church.
“He was inspiring to everybody.”
Farage died after the van he was a passenger in struck an SUV at the intersection of Ellerslie Road and Rabbit Hill.
He was taken to hospital where he later died. The 73-year-old woman who had been driving the van was not injured, while the 44-year-old woman who had been driving the SUV was taken to hospital for precautionary reasons.
Abdelmalek said Farage had been out delivering gifts to families he knew through the church.
“He texted me half an hour before the accident,” Abdelmalek siad. “He texted me asking about my address, because he was dropping off a Christmas gift for his students in the Sunday school.”
He says the loss of Farage will be deeply felt in the community.
“Every Sunday, we see him in church on his wheelchair and distributing smiles,” Abdelmalek said. “Hugs for kids, for adults for seniors that we will look at him, and they learn stuff.”
Farage had Duchenne muscular dystrophy and was an advocate for the disorder. He made videos about living with a disability and shared them on his YouTube page.
Zachary Weeks, another friend of Farage’s, said he was a “really selfless person.”
“Despite his condition, he never, never complained, he just lived his life to the fullest,” Weeks said, who has cerebral palsy and is also a disability advocate.
“He was always willing to lend a hand for the better good. Whether it was disability-related advocacy or something else.
“He never griped about being in a chair, he was always positive and looked at the bright side of things, and was always willing to lend a hand.”
Edmonton police said they are investigating the collision, but added speed and alcohol are not considered factors.