'She was very sweet': Girl, 15, fatally struck by alleged impaired driver in Brampton
A 15-year-old girl fatally struck by an alleged impaired driver in Brampton Friday night is being remembered by friends as someone fun, loving and caring.
"She was very sweet, and she was always there for me," one friend told CTV News Toronto on Saturday.
She and others, wearing purple shirts with the picture of the victim, who they identified as Maddy, returned to the intersection of Horwood Drive and McLaughlin Road to place a cross, flowers and balloons at the spot where their friend was struck the night before.
Peel police and paramedics were called to the intersection around 8 p.m. for a two-vehicle collision. Const. Richard Chin said preliminary information suggest a Honda Civic travelling north on McLaughlin Road made a left turn onto Horwood Drive and collided with a southbound red Volkswagen.
The impact caused the Volkswagen to spin out and mount the curb, striking the 15-year-old victim and her friend standing on the sidewalk, Chin said.
Police are on the scene of a collision in Brampton on Friday, July 12, 2024. (Jacob Estrin for CTV News Toronto)
The 15-year-old girl suffered serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Chin said the victim's friend sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
Meanwhile, the driver of the Honda Civic, identified as 36-year-old Mandeep Singh of Mississauga, was subsequently arrested. He is facing several charges, including refusing to comply with a demand for the approved roadside screening device and dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death.
"I would take a moment to remind people please do not drink and drive. The consequences of this can be deadly as what we've seen," Chin said. In a video posted on X Saturday, he noted that alcohol was a contributing factor in the collision.
Annabelle Evans, the victim's friend who was injured in the collision, also returned to the scene on Saturday and was among those who created the memorial for Maddy.
A makeshift memorial for the victim of a fatal collision is seen at the corner of Horwood Drive and MacLaughlin Road in Brampton on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (CTV News Toronto)
Evans told CTV News Toronto that it was important for her to be there "to remember her basically and like tell people about her so then she doesn't get forgotten."
"Today, it hit me really hard. I had multiple panic attacks," she said.
A teenage boy who says he was in the beginning stages of a relationship with the victim described her as an "amazing person."
"If I could change it, I wish I would have went with her, so maybe I could have changed something. I just wish she wasn't dead," he said.
"It was sad she had to go this way because of a drunk driver."
With files from CTV News Toronto's Sean Leathong
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