A toddler and his mother are dead and the father recovering in hospital, following a suspected impaired driving crash in Mississauga early Thursday morning.
Reports from the scene indicate that a Nissan was travelling eastbound on Bunrhamthorpe Road shortly after 2 a.m. when it was struck by a Hyundai that was headed northbound on Mavis Road at a high rate of speed.
The force of the impact sent the Nissan into a sound barrier at the side of the highway while the Hyundai continued north for a period of time before eventually coming to a stop.
A woman and her young son were pronounced dead on scene while the woman's husband was taken to a trauma centre in life-threatening condition.
Longtime friends of the family have identified the victims as 31-year-old Khushboo Dogra and her two-year-old child Prakrit. The father, 33-year-old Sanket Dogra, remains in hospital.
The friends say they’re devastated by the news, describing the family as “lively, caring and loving.”
Khushboo’s cousin learned of the collision around 4 a.m. through a phone call by police.
“They came to my place and told me that she is no more. And also that my nephew is no more,” Karamveer Singh said. “I’m still in shock.”
Singh said that the Khushboo Dogra was a fashion designer and hoped to start her own business. He said the family was also starting to make plans for Prakrit to go to school.
“She had dreams for the kid just like any other mom. Unfortunately those dreams cannot be fulfilled now.”
Tejvir Dhugga, a childhood friend of the injured father, said that the couple got married in India. Sanket Dogra moved to Canada three years ago for work and Khushboo followed him with their son about a year ago.
“They came here for a better future , but they never knew this was going to happen,” Dhugga said.
Dhugga said that Sanket has not yet woken up from surgery, but doctors have told him that he is “out of danger.” He still doesn’t know that his wife and child have passed away.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Dhugga said. “He lost his wife. He lost his son. He lost almost everything.”
The young family didn’t live far from where the crash occurred, friends said.
An employee at a nearby gas station told CTV News Toronto that his coworker witnessed what happened.
“He said he heard the bang and then he went out and saw the car was on fire,” Mukesh Kumar said. “People were pulling someone out of the car.”
Meanwhile, the 18-year-old male driver of the Hyundai was taken into custody on suspicion of impaired driving. He is currently in hospital with serious injuries, according to police.
“The suspect vehicle was going northbound coming through the intersection, the other vehicle was going eastbound and they collided. Who had the green (light)? We haven’t been able to figure that out yet and as soon as we do that it will tell us a lot,” Const Danny Marttini told reporters at the scene.
Marttini said that the suspect in the case will likely be in hospital for at least 48 hours.
She said that charges have not yet been filed in the case but are likely.
“We need to find all the pieces until we can lay those charges. There are just a lot of different factors at hand right now,” she said. “We are looking at impairment as a factor, we are looking at speed as a factor as well. There are many moving pieces and once we get potential video footage, witness statements and all those factors then we will be able to know exactly what we are dealing with.”
The intersection remains closed while police conduct a full investigation.
