A funeral was held Wednesday for a five-year-old Toronto girl who was fatally struck by a garbage truck while she was on her way home from school last week.
A day after the collision, Kayleigh Callaghan-Belanger was described by her parents as a “beautiful, loving girl” who cared for her two sisters, loved to draw and adored cartoon princesses.
The young girl was walking with three other children, including a babysitter, when she was hit by the truck at Cliffside and East Haven drives in the city’s east end last Thursday.
Callaghan-Belanger, a senior kindergarten student at nearby Cliffside Public School, died at the scene, while a six-year-old boy and the babysitter, a 13-year-old girl, suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The fourth child was not injured.
Wednesday’s funeral was held at Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church on Birchmount Road, just south of Danforth Avenue.
Callaghan-Belanger is survived by her parents, Jacob Callaghan and Jessica Belanger, who is pregnant, and sisters Alyah and Adrihanna.
Meanwhile, police continue to investigate the crash to determine whether charges are warranted.
The City of Toronto garbage truck was being driven by a 64-year-old man, who was treated for shock after the collision.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-1900 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
After the collision, Callaghan-Belanger’s father said crossing guards should be appointed to the intersection to protect pedestrians.
Residents and parents said speeding vehicles are a problem in the area.
