The community came together on Monday evening to mourn the tragic loss of a six-year-old girl who was killed in a downtown crash over the weekend.
Close to 150 people attended a candlelight vigil near Orillia City Centre in memory of Avalon Jamieson, who was killed while standing on Colborne Street, waiting to cross the road with her younger sister and her father.
Her sister and father suffered minor injuries when one of the vehicles involved in a two-vehicle crash careened onto the sidewalk and struck all three.
The horrific accident took place just one day before Avalon’s sixth birthday.
On Monday evening, teary-eyed community members lit candles in memory of Avalon as Rev. Carmen Novosky led the community through a candlelight vigil service.
“Here are my questions for you: How did this happen? Why did this happen? How can we make sure nothing like this happens to another child again?” she said.
“These (are) questions I'm sure you've all been thinking about today, and yesterday and the day before. We're here to remember and mourn and grieve and to help his loving family get through a tragedy," Novosky said.
“There are no words to explain why a beautiful young child was involved in, literally, a freak accident,” she said. “It's painful. It's also painful to our heavenly father who created the world.”
Novosky called on the community to be there for Avalon’s family and for one another through acts of kindness, to help with the grieving process and spread positivity in memory of Avalon, who was called a “bright light” by those who knew her.
“I'm going to challenge all of you to carry out an act of kindness in Avalon’s name, a way to honour her spirit and make the City of Orillia a kinder place,” she said. “If everyone here did at least one random act of kindness over the next six days, or six years, or six months … just think what a ripple effect we would create here.”
Avalon’s mother, Sasha Bisio, recalled her daughter's willingness to share whatever she had with her friends and family, remembering a previous birthday where she willingly parted with her birthday cake topper to make her little sister happy.
“She was an amazing little girl, and I was just so honoured and thankful that she chose me to be her parent,” Bisio said. “She was a true gift from God. I just looked back at all our beautiful memories. It was absolutely incredible … how she thought about others.”
Poems were recited and hymns were sung by attending community members who stood out in the snowy, cold weather to honour Avalon.
Towards the end of the vigil, the crowd joined together in singing happy birthday, before blowing out their candles at the end of the song – as Avalon didn’t get the chance to blow out her own candles for her sixth birthday.
Mayor Don McIsaac said the tragic crash serves a reminder for how fragile life can be.
“It's difficult. It grounds you. It brings you back to the reality of how fragile life is,” he told OrilliaMatters. “God works in mysterious ways, and this is one of those mysteries. We all have faith, but it tests your faith, for sure.”
In the days since the crash, more than $30,000 has been raised for Avalon’s family through a GoFundMe campaign. The link to donate may be found here.
McIsaac, along with Amber McGarvey of Ripple of Kindness Orillia, and Nosey Neighbours joined forces to create the fundraiser to help support the family in their time of need.
“It's wonderful just to see people come together and pray for Avalon and bond (together),” the mayor said after Monday's service. “The support from the community has been absolutely overwhelming.”
For those more comfortable making an etransfer that will be given directly to the parents, you can send those to [email protected]. Please put Avalon's name in the message section.
For those who would rather make a donation by cheque, funds may be sent to The Lighthouse at 75 Queen St. E., Orillia, ON, L3V 8M2, with a note indicating the donation is for the Jamieson Family in memory of Avalon.
The incident remains under investigation, say the Orillia OPP.
Orillia OPP Const. Brett Boniface previously told OrilliaMatters the two kids and their father were standing at the southwest corner of Colborne Street, waiting to cross the road, when the crash happened.
"One of the vehicles careened onto the street and hit the pedestrians," said Boniface, who could provide no other details about the two vehicles involved in the crash.
Both drivers, he noted, remained on the scene following the crash.
Members of the Traffic Incident Management Enforcement (TIME) team and collision reconstructionists were on the scene for more than five hours after the incident, he said.
